Double Casting: Actors Who Played The Same Character (PHOTOS)

Actress AnnaSophia Robb has been cast as Carrie Bradshaw -- the character made famous by Sarah Jessica Parker on "Sex and the City" -- in the upcoming TV series "The Carrie Diaries."

The 18-year-old will play a teenage version of Bradshaw as she comes of age during the 1980s. A tough road lies ahead for Robb, who is tasked with portraying a very distinct character, carved out by Parker over six season and two movies.

The advent of the movie "prequel" in the past 15 years has brought us younger versions of iconic characters, like Anakin Skywalker in "The Phantom Menace" or Hannibal Lecter in "Hannibal Rising," who don't live up to their adult counterparts.

Casting younger and older character counterparts can be tricky, but the flashback is a key storytelling device in tons of films. Because of this, there are a number of child stars who got their starts in Hollywood playing the younger version of a character, to reveal something about the grown character's life.

We found a few examples of actors who have played the same characters at different ages. Let us know what you think of the casting decisions.

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• AnnaSophia Robb & Sarah Jessica Parker

  AnnaSophia Robb will play a teenage Carrie Bradshaw as she grows up during the 1980s, in the upcoming TV series "The Carrie Diaries," while Sarah Jessica Parker played the character on "Sex and the City" for six seasons and two movies. Image credit: Getty

• Logan Lerman, John Patrick Amedori & Ashton Kutcher

  Logan Lerman, John Patrick Amedori and Ashton Kutcher all played the character of Evan at different ages in the 2004 movie "The Butterfly Effect." Image credit: Getty

• Mila Kunis & Angelina Jolie

  Actress Mila Kunis portrayed supermodel Gia Carangi, in the the 1998 HBO movie "Gia," which starred Angelina Jolie as troubled model all grown up. Image credit: Getty

• Jacob Kogan, Zachary Quinto & Leonard Nimoy

  Jacob Kogan, Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy all played Spock at various ages in 2009's "Star Trek." Image credit: Getty

• Dakota Fanning & Reese Witherspoon

  Dakota Fanning played young Melanie in flashback sequences in 2002's "Sweet Home Alabama," which starred Reese Witherspoon grown version of the character. Image credit: Getty

• Kate Winslet & Gloria Stuart

  Kate Winslet played young Rose in 1997's "Titanic," while actress Gloria Stuart will forever be remembered as elderly version of Rose who dropped the necklace called the Heart of the Ocean overboard at the of the film. Image credit: Getty

• Makenzie Vega & Jessica Alba

  Actress Makenzie Vega played 11-year-old Nancy in the 2005 movie, "Sin City," and Jessica Alba played the character as an adult. Image credit: Getty

• Brittany Snow & Kelly Rutherford

  Brittany Snow played a teenage version of Kelly Rutherford's "Gossip Girl" character Lily Rhodes on a 2009 episode of the show that doubled as a failed backdoor pilot for a spinoff series. Image credit: Getty

• Krysten Ritter & Sheila Kelley

  Krysten Ritter played a teenage version of Sheila Kelley's "Gossip Girl" character Carol Rhodes on a 2009 episode of the show that doubled as a failed backdoor pilot fot a spinoff series. Image credit: Getty

• Gaby Hoffman & Demi Mooren

  In 1995, Gaby Hoffmann played the 12-year-old version of Samantha in the film, "Now and Then," while Demi Moore played the grown up version of the character. Image credit: Getty

• Elle Fanning & Dakota Fanning

  Elle Fanning played younger version of her sister Dakota's character Lucy in the 2001 film "I Am Sam."

• Thora Birch & Melanie Griffith

  Thora Birch and Melanie Griffin both played the character of Teeny in the 1995 movie, "Now and Then." Image credit: Getty

• Christina Ricci & Rosie O'Donnell

  In 1995's "Now and Then" Christina Ricci played the 12-year-old version of Roberta, while Rosie O'Donell played the adult version. Image credit: Getty

• Ryan Gosling & James Garner

  Ryan Gosling played young Noah in 2004's "The Notebook," which also starred James Garner as an elderly version of Noah, telling his love story from a retirement home. Image credit: Getty

• Zac Efron & Matthew Perry

  Zac Efron plays the 17-year-old version of Mike O'Donell in the 2009 movie, "17 Again." Matthew Perry plays an 30-something version of the character who wishes for his high school days. Image credit: Getty

• Jamie Lynn Spears & Britney Spears

  Jamie Lynne Spears played a young version of Lucy in the 2002 movie "Crossroads," while her sister Britney played the 18-year-old version of the character. Image credit: Getty

• Hero Fiennes-Tiffin & Ralph Fiennes

  Ralph Finnes nephew, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, was cast as Tom Riddle in 2009's "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Ripple would grow up to become the evil Lord Voldemort, who was portrayed by Finnes in several of the Potter movies. Image credit: Getty

• Cayden Boyd & Ryan Reynolds

  Cayden Boyd played the young version of Michael in 2008's "Fireflies in the Garden," and Ryan Reynolds played the character as an adult. Image credit: Getty

• Hayden Panettiere & Emily Watson

  Actresses Hayden Panettiere and Emily Watson played the younger and older versions of Jane in 2008's "Fireflies in the Garden." Image credit: Getty

• Gaspard Ulliel & Anthony Hopkins

  Gaspard Ulliel portrayed a young Hannibal Lecter in the 2007 film "Hannibal Rising," while Anthony Hopkins played the character in 1991's "Silence of the Lambs," 2001's "Hannibal" and the 2002 movie "Red Dragon." Image credit: Getty

• Elle Fanning, Madisen Beaty & Cate Blanchett

  The 2008 film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," is the story of a man who ages backwards. Actresses Elle Fanning and Madisen Beaty portrayed Benjamin's love interest Daisy at age 7 and 10, respectively, while Cate Blanchett played the grown version of Daisy. image credit: Getty

• Tom Welling, Brandon Routh & Dean Cain

  Tom Welling played the teenage version of Clark Kent/Superman on the TV show "Smallville," which aired from 2001 to 2011. Brandon Routh and Dean Cain both portrayed grown up versions of the character in 2006's "Superman Returns" and in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," which ran from 1993 to 1997, respectively. (Note: Several other actors have played Superman, we chose the most recent actors to do portray the iconic character.) Image credit: Getty

• Robert De Niro & Marlon Brando

  Marlon Brando played the iconic role of Don Vito Corleone in 1972's "The Godfather." The role was reprised by Robert De Niro in 1974 as a younger version of Corleone in "The Godfather: Part II." Both actors won Oscars for their portrayals of the same character.