Actors Much Older Than Their Characters

Robert Downey Jr. joked last week that Paul Thomas Anderson passed him over in favor of Joaquin Phoenix for the lead in the film adaptation of "Inherent Vice" because of his age. Phoenix is 10 years younger than Downey, who is 48.

"I think he told me I'm too old," Downey told GQ. "Which I love when people tell me."

The role was that of Doc Sportello, Thomas Pynchon's character from his novel of the same name as the movie. Sportello, a pothead private eye, is 29 in the book — but Downey wouldn't have been the first actor to play someone much younger than he is. Here are ten actors who did a convincing job playing younger characters: