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Outer Banks is the wildly popular Netflix series that introduced audiences to a bunch of new talent. The cast may play teenagers in the series, but their actual ages might surprise you! Find out why 20-somethings are cast to play teen roles and how Chase Stokes’ age compares to the rest of his Outer Banks castmates.

Cast of 'Outer Banks'
Cast of ‘Outer Banks’ | Netflix

‘Outer Banks’ is a show about teenagers

At it’s core, Outer Banks is a show about teen angst. Each character is grappling with a personal difficulty. For John B, it’s imperative that he find the gold his father went missing over, but he’s also dealing with feelings for Kiara and Sarah.

JJ is struggling with an abusive father and dealing with the fact that his friends are the only people he can rely on. Kiara low-key struggles with identifying as both a Kook and a Pogue. Pope is trying to keep his record clean so that he can obtain the scholarship he needs to attend his dream school. Sarah doesn’t want to be tied to her prominent family — she wants a life of adventure that only a Pogue could offer.

With so many teen themes, fans are curious as to why Outer Banks would cast actors in their 20s to play these roles.

Why were older actors cast for ‘Outer Banks’?

It’s not often that a teenager is actually cast to play a teen. Casting 20-somethings to play teenagers is quite a popular move. From Saturday Night Fever to Mean Girls, older actors are often cast as teenagers for legal reasons.

“Actors under the age of 18 need to have guardians on set and work a limited set of hours because of schooling,” said Marcia Ross, the casting director for 10 Things I Hate About You and Clueless. It’s likely that Outer Banks used older actors to make filming a simpler process. Plus, who could deny such a beautiful cast?

Chase Stokes is the oldest actor playing a teen on ‘Outer Banks’ 

At 27-years-old, Stokes is the oldest “teen” in the cast of Outer Banks. In the series, he plays John B, the leader of the Pogues in search of the storied gold his father went after. John B is meant to be 16-years-old, hence the legal trouble he runs into due to his lack of guardianship.

Drew Starkey is 26

Just behind Stokes in age is Drew Starkey. Born June 3, 1993, Starkey plays Rafe Cameron in Outer Banks. Rafe is one of the main antagonists in Season 1. He is the older brother of Sarah Cameron and therefore displeased that she would associate herself with a Pogue. In addition, Rafe has an addiction to drugs and gets mixed up with the wrong crowd, creating a world of problems for his family. 

The rest of the Pogues and Kooks are younger 

The remaining Pogue crew is younger than Stokes. The actors who play Kiara, Pope, and JJ are all of legal drinking age. Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow are each 21-years-old. Bailey was born Jan. 29, 1999; Daviss was born Feb. 28, 1999; Pankow was born in 1998.

Austin North, who plays Sarah Cameron’s troubled significant other, Topper, is 23-years-old (born July 30, 1996). Madelyn Cline plays the affluent Sarah Cameron who falls for John B while dating Topper (North). She is 22-years-old and was born Dec. 21, 1997.

The youngest cast member on ‘Outer Banks’ makes sense 

Julia Antonelli, who plays the youngest Cameron sibling, Wheezie, was born on April 15, 2003. She is only 17-years-old.

In the series, Wheezie is meant to be a pre-teenager. When you consider the fact that 20-somethings were cast as teenagers, it makes sense that a teenager was cast as a pre-teen in the series. 

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