Just a thought
I wonder what it would of looked like if Matt Dillon played Mason and a younger boy played the part of Tex. Don't get me wrong, I loved Jim Metzler, but he was so much older. I just thought it would of looked more realistic.
shareI though Jim Metzler looked young enough to play Mason. Since he was good in his role, I didn't mind too much that he was closer to age 30 in real life.
Would it have made a difference with the casting change? Hard to say . . .
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It's very common to cast older people as younger characters in Hollywood:
- Michael J. Fox was close to 30 when he was playing 17 year old Marty McFly in 'Back to the Future Part II' & '...Part III'.
- Alan Ruck was around 30 years old when he played high schooler Cameron Frye in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'.
- Actor Tom Welling, of TV's 'Smallville' turned 30 earlier this year (April 2007). His 'Smallville' character, Clark Kent, is @ 19/20. Ironically, Christopher Reeve was 25 years old when he played Superman/Clark Kent, who was suppose to @ 30, in 'Superman' (1978).
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The most glaring example of high school kids played by people near or over 30 would be the cast of the 'Porky's' movies or the film 'Grease'! Very obvious!
I would say that the trend of having younger actors play characters closer to their age has been improving in recent years . . .
~ MC2
"The reservist formerly known as JO2"