They really wanted him too! Didn't he turn the role down twice? I love him too and he did a good job of making "young" expressions but yeah, he looked way too old for the part.

I do wonder if there would've been more sympathy towards his character had he looked closer to 15 - I feel like people are harsher on his decisions, especially in dealing with Lex because they look so close to the same age when they're not supposed to be.