19 Actors Who Literally Cannot Seem To Stop Being On Teen Dramas
BuzzFeed
8 min read
Hollywood tends to re-use the same actors over and over, but when it comes to teen dramas, this becomes especially true.
Freeform / MTV / The CW
Like...I'm not sure some teen dramas are aware that there are other actors out there. But hey, I guess if it's not broke, don't fix it, right? If these actors are working out...more power to them! Or maybe the actors just love being in teen dramas.
NBC
Either way, here are 19 actors who can't seem to stop appearing in teen dramas.
1.First up, we have eternal teenager Bianca Lawson. Here she is in her first major role, Megan on teen drama Saved by the Bell: The New Class, way back in 1993-1994.
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But wait — here she is again as "third bathroom girl" in My So-Called Life in 1994 and Rhonda in Sister, Sister in 1995 (I'm combining these because you could argue they're more family shows).
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Here she is again as Kendra on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997.
The WB
Here she is as Nikki in Dawson's Creek in 1999-2000...
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...Shawna on The Secret Life of the American Teenager in 2009...
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...Maya on Pretty Little Liars in 2010-2012...
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...Emily on The Vampire Diaries in 2009-2014...
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...And finally, the guidance counselor Mrs. Morrell on Teen Wolf (from 2012-2014).
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2.Next up we have fellow Buffy alum Charisma Carpenter. Here she is as Wendie on Baywatch in 1994...
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...Ashley on Malibu Shores in 1996...
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...Cordelia on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997-1999...
She went on to continue the role on Angel until 2004, but sadly, she never appeared on Buffy again after Season 3.
...Kendall on Veronica Mars in 2005-2006...
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...Tegan on Greek from 2007-2011...
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...and Rebecca on The Lying Game from 2012-2013.
Freeform
3.Next is another actor who worked with Bianca — fellow TVD alum Kat Graham. Here she is on more kid-oriented teen shows Lizzie McGuire (she played Posse Member #2 in 2002), Hannah Montana (she played Allison from 2008-2009), and Joan of Arcadia (she played Angela in 2004).
Once again combining these since you could argue they're more kid's/family/preteen shows.
Then, here she is as Kim on The O.C. in 2006...
The WB
...A dancer on Greek in 2007...
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...and Bonnie on The Vampire Diaries from 2009-2017.
The CW
4.Yet another of Bianca and Kat's TVD costars — Arielle Kebbel! Here she is as Lindsay on Gilmore Girls in 2003-2004...
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...Paige on Life Unexpected in 2010...
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...Vanessa on 90210 from 2011-2013...
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...and finally, Lexi on The Vampire Diaries from 2009-2017.
Yep — she was still playing eternal teenage vampire Lexie in 2017.
5.Another TVD star (man, I should create a web at this point)...Susan Walters! Here she is in 2009 as Principal Rimkus on One Tree Hill.
The CW
On The Vampire Diaries, she played Tyler's mom/the mayor Carol Lockwood from 2009-2013.
The CW
Not a great pic, I know, but here she is as Maia on the short-lived CW teen drama Star-Crossed in 2014.
The CW
Here she is as Lydia's mom Natalie on Teen Wolf from 2011-2017...
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...and Diane on The Fosters in 2018.
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6.Next up we have Vanessa Morgan. Here she is as Vanessa on Degrassi: The Next Generation in 2013...
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...Bird on Finding Carter in 2014-2015...
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...Lyria on The Shannara Chronicles in 2017...
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...and Toni on Riverdale from 2017-present.
At least there was a time jump, so Toni's no longer a teen!
7.We've also got another former Degrassi star Raymond Ablack. He played Sav on Degrassi: The Next Generation from 2007-2011.
He was also Kevin in Life With Derek in 2009, but I couldn't find a photo of that one.
He reprised the role in Degrassi: Next Class in 2016.
Netflix
He also appeared as Raj in Shadowhunters from 2016-2018.
Freeform
And just last year, he began appearing as Joe in Ginny and Georgia.
Netflix
8.Speaking of Shadowhunters...let's talk about Harry Shum Jr. He played Roy on Zoey 101 (not pictured) and Yuki on iCarly, both in 2008.
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He also played Vance on Greek in 2008.
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Perhaps most notably, he played Mike on Glee from 2009-2015...
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...and Magnus Bane on Shadowhunters from 2016-2019.
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9.Shadowhunters star Katherine McNamara also appeared on Glee — as Bunhead #1 in 2012.
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She was also on pre-teen shows Kickin' It (as Claire) from 2012-2013 and Jessie (as Bryn) in 2013.
Disney Channel
She played Kat on The Fosters in 2015...
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...and, of course, Clary on Shadowhunters from 2016-2019.
John Medland / Freeform / courtesy Everett Collection
10.Next is New Girl star Max Greenfield. Here he is as Lucas in Gilmore Girls in 2003...
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....Young Sandy on The O.C. in 2007...
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...Michael on Greek in 2008...
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...and Leo on Veronica Mars from 2005-2007, then again in the reboot in 2019.
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11.Torrey DeVitto is next! Here she is in 2003 as a college student on Dawson's Creek...
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...Tori on Drake and Josh from 2004-2005...
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...Carrie on One Tree Hill in 2008...
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...Meredith on The Vampire Diaries from 2012-2013...
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...and Melissa on Pretty Little Liars from 2010-2017.
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12.Onto M?dchen Amick — here she is as Nicole on Dawson's Creek in 1999...
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...Sherry on Gilmore Girls in 2002-2003...
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...Catherine/The Duchess on Gossip Girl in 2008...
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...and Alice on Riverdale from 2017-present.
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13.We all remember Chad Michael Murray as Tristan on Gilmore Girls from 2000-2001, right?
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As well as Charlie on Dawson's Creek in 2001-2002?
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But he's obviously most memorable as Lucas on One Tree Hill from 2003-2012.
He really was just jumping from teen drama to teen drama.
And who could forget his triumphant teen drama return as cult leader Edgar on Riverdale in 2019?
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14.Another heartthrob who's jumped around teen dramas is Sam Page. Here he is as Colin, one of Serena's professors (and love interests) on Gossip Girl in 2010...
The CW
...Joel on Greek from 2010-2011...
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...and Craig on Switched at Birth from 2012-2015.
Freeform
15.One of my faves is Melissa Ponzio. Here she is as Robin on Dawson's Creek from 2001-2002...
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...Alice on One Tree Hill from 2003-2004...
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...Daphne on The Vampire Diaries in 2009...
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...and Melissa McCall on Teen Wolf from 2011-2017.
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16.We all know Jane Lynch from Glee, but first she played a nurse on Gilmore Girls in 2000...
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...Then Pacey's mom on Dawson's Creek in 2001...
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...Mrs. Donaldson on Veronica Mars in 2004...
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...and finally, of course, Sue Sylvester on Glee from 2009-2015.
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17.Lucy Hale has also been on a bunch of teen shows, but we'll start with the pre-teen ones to get them out of the way — Amy on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide in 2005 (her first role!), Hazel on Drake and Josh in 2006, and Miranda on Wizards of Waverly Place from 2007-2008.
Nickelodeon / Disney Channel
Here she is as Hadley on The O.C. in 2006...
The WB
...Aria on Pretty Little Liars from 2010-2017...
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...And Katy Keene on Riverdale in 2020.
The CW
18.Shannen Doherty is probably best known for her role as Brenda on Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990-1994...
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...and on the reboot 90210 in 2008-2009...
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...But she also was on the TV version of Heathers as JD's mom in 2018...
Shannen had originally played one of the Heathers in the 1988 movie the show was based on.
...and she appeared as the motorist Fred saved on Riverdale in 2019.
Shannen was on the show to honor her former Beverly Hills, 90210 costar, Luke Perry, who had played Fred Andrews on Riverdale until his death, which was then written onto the show in an episode guest-starring Doherty.
19.Brian Austin Green also starred in Beverly Hills, 90210, as David, from 1990-2000.
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According to IMDb, he was also in Saved by the Bell: The College Years in 1993 and Malibu Shores in 1996. But the next teen show role I can find a photo of him in is Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. He played Chad Corey Dylan in 1996.
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And finally, he appeared as John/Metallo on Smallville in 2010.
Marcel Williams / Warner Brothers Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection