Top 10 Nickelodeon Stars Who Are Way Older Than You Thought

You may remember actress Jolene Purdy from her role in the cult classic “Donnie Darko,” or her turn as Stephanie in “Orange is the New Black.” But many might not know that she had a main role in the TeenNick show “Gigantic.” On the show, she played the best friend of 17-year-old “it girl” Anna Moore. Wait – how could Purdy star as a teenager in 2001’s “Donnie Darko” and also play a teenager on a show that started in 2010? Well, you may be surprised to learn that Purdy was in her mid-20s – about 26 or 27 – when she starred on “Gigantic.” Don’t worry – she wasn’t the only one, but we’ll get to those later.

When you’re watching a Nickelodeon show, you expect to see teenage or child actors. Generally, Nick does a pretty good job at making sure their casting is age appropriate, but every once in a while, someone slips through the cracks. So is the case on 2011’s “Power Rangers Samurai.” The 18th season of the Power Rangers franchise follows young warriors who must take up the ancient mantle of the Samurai Power Rangers. One of those warriors is Kevin, played by Najee De-Tiege. He looks pretty young, but don’t let that fresh face fool you. Najee was about 26 years old when he starred in this Teen Nick show. We hope he feels up to sharing his skincare routine.

This funny, mysterious TeenNick show follows the adventures of five foster children who have to try and find their missing parents. The group of lovable misfits include Max, a teenager who’s new to the family at the beginning of the first season. Played by Stony Blyden, Max is streetwise and cool, seeming wise beyond his 15 years – and for good reason. Although Blyden seems young, he was about 24 when he first appeared in the role of Max. 24 is a bit old to be playing a 15 year old, but Blyden is so fun to watch in the role, I guess we’ll let it slide this time.

In “Gigantic,” Grace Gummer plays Anna Moore, the 17-year-old daughter of mega-famous actors John and Jennifer Moore. It’s a fun bit of inspired casting, seeing as Gummer herself is the daughter of a real life mega-famous actress – one Meryl Streep. Even though the meta aspects of this casting all make sense, you may be surprised to learn Gummer was a bit older than 17 at the time. In fact, she was 24. Again, many an actor on this delightfully soapy show was a bit older than promised, so this isn’t the last we’ll hear of “Gigantic” before this list is over.

What’s up with these power rangers? They must be using their forces to appear way younger than they are, because we would have never guessed this one. On “Power Rangers Samurai,” Erika Fong plays Mia Watanabe, the Pink Samurai Ranger. Mia is just as fun-loving and youthful as all the other training samurai, but Fong was actually around 25 years old when she took on the role. Like Najee De-Tiege before her, she brings a freshness to the role despite being a bit older than you might expect for a kids show. Seriously, we need all of these actors to drop their skincare secrets right this minute!

Sometimes it’s the quiet ones! In Nickelodeon’s comedy series “The Troop,” actor David Del Rio plays Felix, the school nerd. Throughout the series, Felix wants so badly to tell the rest of the school about his involvement in the Troop – a group of crime-fighting and monster-hunting teenagers – so he can gain some street cred, but he’s forced to keep it all to himself. And that’s not the only secret he’s hiding. Turns out Del Rio was around 22 years old when he took on the role of the geeky young teenager. Most of the other actors were teens or at least below the legal U.S. drinking age, so that makes Del Rio stand out in our book.

The beloved Nickelodeon show “Victorious” had a ton of beloved young actors, including Victoria Justice, Leon Thomas III and of course, Ariana Grande. All of these actors were definitely age-appropriate for the roles they were cast in – except one. Danielle Monet played Victoria Justice’s dramatic big sister Trina on the show, but casting might have gotten a bit liberal with the birth older. Sure, Trina was supposed to be older, but she was also definitely supposed to still be high school-aged, right? When Monet took on the role, she was about 21 years old. Not a crazy stretch of the imagination, but surprising all the same!

Finally, our last “Gigantic” entry! Remember how Grace Gummer was almost a decade older than her 17-year-old character Anna Moore? Well, luckily the show thought it pertinent to cast a love interest that was older as well. Actor Ryan Rottman plays Joey, an average, middle-class guy who becomes involved with Anna. Of course, all the drama that comes with a “rich girl/average guy” relationship ensues. Rottman definitely LOOKS a far bit older than his co stars – he’s got the look of a big, beefy 26-year old … which, to be fair, he is. However, if they were going to err on the older side for this cast, we’re glad they at least kept it consistent.

Who doesn’t love a boy band? We certainly do, and we especially love a boy band with a TV show! When “Big Time Rush” first debuted in 2009, the main cast were all pretty age appropriate … almost. All four – Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan – fell into that 19-21-ish range. But as the show went on, the characters stayed stuck in a teenage dream, while the actors – obviously – continued to age. By the time the show came to its end, the boys were all in their mid-20s still playing teenagers. Unfortunately, you can’t stay young forever, but we’ll always love and miss “Big Time Rush!”

We all remember Carly’s goofy but lovable older brother Spencer on the beloved sitcom “iCarly.” Spencer serves as Carly’s legal guardian, so we always knew he was definitely older than her – at least enough so it makes sense for him to take care of her. But actor Jerry Trainor always gave off such a youthful, fun-loving energy, it was hard to imagine he was older than 25. Well, think again! When the show started in 2007, Trainor was about 30 years old, making him around 35 when the show came to an end in 2012. That also means that in the world of the show, he was about 15 years older than his younger sister. Talk about an age gap!