The popular Arrowverse series, The Flash, proved the most popular show from that universe, with the characters growing into their roles over the nine-season run. While Arrow kicked off the Arrowverse in 2012, The Flash was the show that made this set of stories more engaging and accessible for audiences. Debuting in 2014, The Flash provided a much more uplifting, enthusiastic, and bright hero for the Arrowverse in Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen, and his alter ego superhero identity, the Flash.

The series focused on a slightly younger group than Arrow, with the hero and his allies being early in their careers, and generally more youthful and energetic than Oliver Queen and company. With this in mind, Oliver became somewhat of a mentor to young Barry Allen, helping him to learn what it means to be a hero, although Allen had the advantage due to his incredible metahuman superpowers. Barry was also joined by several close friends on Team Flash, mostly around the same age, working together to find and help metahumans who needed help, and put a stop to those who abused their powers.

8

Grant Gustin (24) As Barry Allen (25)

Grant Gustin Was Slightly Younger Than His Character on The Flash

Grant Gustin was a perfect casting for the role of Barry Allen, from his energetic and enthusiastic charm, to his ability to explore self-doubt. The young actor was 24 years old when The Flash first debuted, and he portrays a 25-year-old Barry Allen. At this point in his life, Barry has begun his career in criminal forensics, and he displays tremendous skill and talent despite his young age.

Despite Gustin being slightly younger than his TV counterpart, the age difference is negligible. Gustin delivers an outstanding performance as a high speed hero with a bottomless stomach, and shows nuance and a wide range of emotion throughout the show’s 184 episode run, in addition to several cameos in other Arrowverse shows.

7

Candice Patton (26) As Iris West-Allen (25)

Candice Patton Was Slightly Older Than Iris West, Later Iris West-Allen

Playing opposite Grant Gustin’s Flash is the incredible Candice Patton in the role of Barry’s best friend and, eventually, his wife. Both Barry and Iris were raised together after Barry’s mother was killed, and his father was wrongfully imprisoned for her death. However, the pair had already been friends before this, and the tragedy only brought them closer together, with Barry becoming a part of the West family and viewing Joe West like a father figure in his life.

Iris is the same age as Barry, with both characters being born in 1989. However, the actors do have a two-year age gap, which means that Gustin was one year younger than his character, and Patton was one year older. Once again, this age gap is very small, and thus, it makes no real impact on the series and its characters.

6

Danielle Panabaker (27) As Caitlin Snow (25)

Danielle Panabaker Was 2 Years Older Than Her Character In The Flash

Joining Team Flash, Danielle Panabaker plays Caitlin Snow, one of the most sensitive and cautious members of the team who is often the voice of reason, and the character who defuses tension in the group. At the outset of the show, Caitlin is also 25, the same age as Barry and Iris, but she is a more mature character who had previously been married and lost her husband in a terrible accident. However, Caitlin is also one of the characters who undergoes the most comprehensive change in the show when she gets powers and becomes Killer Frost.

Panabaker was the oldest member on the original Team Flash, but once again, she was very close in age to her peers. The difference in age between Panabaker and Caitlin was minimal, and thanks to Panabaker’s young look, she continued to appear as though she could be younger than some of the others, despite possessing wisdom and knowledge far beyond her years. Regardless, the actor and her character remained similar ages throughout the show’s run.

5

Carlos Valdés (25) As Cisco Ramon (23)

Carlos Valdés Was 2 Years Older Than His Character In The Flash

Rounding out the original Team Flash, Cisco Ramon was the baby of the group at just 23 years old. However, Cisco is also an engineering and technology genius who had a steady job putting his talents to use before S.T.A.R. Labs exploded. Cisco is an invaluable member of the team who is able to build special technology to handle metahumans, and to test and train Barry to better control and improve his powers. Cisco is also a loyal friend who puts himself on the line for the people he cares about.

Carlos Valdés was actually 25 when the show began filming, which makes him the age that most of the core cast were playing, despite his character being slightly younger. Cisco also develops powers later in the show as his character matures, and he becomes distant from Barry when Barry makes changes in the timeline that cause tragedy in his family life. However, the actor remains close in age to his character throughout the show.

4

Jesse L. Martin (45) As Joe West (45)

Jesse L. Martin Was About The Same Age As His Character In The Flash

Detective Joe West is the single father of Iris and Wally West, and he takes Barry Allen, aka, The Flash, into his home when the boy loses his parents due to tragedy. Joe is a committed police detective who eventually heads up the police department in Central City. While Barry and Team Flash work together to maintain the metahuman threat with their powers, Joe works on the side of the law to keep the community safe, and he is initially not privy to Barry’s secret identity.

Jesse L. Martin, the man who plays Joe West in the show, was 45 years old when the show began, which is the same age that Joe West is portrayed as. Joe is a mature father figure who inspires and protects his children and Barry with every ounce of strength he has. Despite being slightly older than the rest of the team, Joe has experience and wisdom on his side that often helps him to detect clues and be a valuable asset to Team Flash.

3

Tom Cavanagh (50) As Harrison Wells (Unknown)

Tom Cavanagh Plays Numerous Characters With Undefined Ages In The Flash

Throughout the early seasons of The Flash, Harrison Wells is not in fact the man that he declares himself to be. Earth Prime’s Harrison Wells was actually murdered almost 15 years prior to the shows beginning, by Eobard Thawne, who then took over Harrison’s life and began living as Wells for the following decade and a half. Eobard Thawne is a villain from the future, known as Reverse-Flash, who travels back in time to defeat his rival, The Flash.

Thawne’s true birthday is unknown, and considering his time traveling, it may be difficult to accurately pinpoint how old the character is. However, Cavanagh also had the opportunity to play several other versions of Harrison Wells from different Earths. Again, the specific age of these characters is not revealed, but Cavanagh was 50 years old when he began appearing on the show in season 1.

2

Keiynan Lonsdale (24) As Wally West (20)

Keiynan Lonsdale Was 4 Years Older Than His Character In The Flash

Wally West is Iris West’s younger brother, and the only son of Joe West. Wally did not appear in season 1, as he had lived separately with his mother in Keystone City up until 2015. At that point, Wally was reunited with his father and sister after his mother passed away, and he was warmly welcomed by his family. As of 2015, Wally was 20 years old. However, the actor, Keiynan Lonsdale, was 24 at the time, which meant he was one of the characters with the biggest age gap up to that point.

Wally had some catching up to do with family, and it took time to integrate and adjust to life with the West’s, but the genuine love and support of Joe and Iris made the transition easier. Wally also eventually develops powers similar to Barry, and he adopts the name Kid Flash as his superhero alias. He also travels to other Earths in order to protect people and improve his powers.

1

Jessica Parker Kennedy (34) As Nora West-Allen (26)

Jessica Parker Kennedy Was 8 Years Older Than Her Character In The Flash

One of the most interesting and complex characters in The Flash is Nora West-Allen. Nora first appears in season 4, but her identity is not immediately revealed. The character has powers similar to the Flash, and clearly has a great deal of respect and admiration for him, but it isn’t until slightly later that her identity as Barry and Iris’ daughter is revealed. Nora was born in 2023, but she didn’t travel back in time until she was 26 years old in 2049.

She traveled back to 2018 and met her parents, while she was a true age of 26 years old on the show, despite appearing 5 years before she was born. However, the actress who played Nora, Jessica Parker Kennedy, was 34 when she first appeared on the show. This makes her the actor with the largest age gap from their character in the main cast of The Flash, but her youthful looks and enigmatic performance make her feel as though she is convincingly the same age or younger than Barry and Iris.