Acting age explained

Acting age is an age, or range of ages, that an actor lists on his or her résumé. It is not a claim to an actual chronological age, but a suggestion as to what age or ages the actor considers themselves capable of credibly portraying.

Notable examples

• Stacey Dash, who played a 17-year-old in both the movie and TV versions of Clueless until the age of 32.
• Estelle Getty, who played the mother of Beatrice Arthur's character Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls who was actually younger than Arthur.
• Sidney Poitier played a teenager in Blackboard Jungle when he was 28.
• Gabrielle Carteris played a 16- to 21-year-old on Beverly Hills, 90210 when she was ages 29 to 34.
• Tom Welling played a young 14 to 24 year old Clark Kent on Smallville when he was 24 to 34 years old.
• Ralph Macchio played high school teenager Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid films when he was in his 20s.