Vinnie "VJ" Patterson Jnr - Felix Dean & Matt Little

[gutterboy]

I found in the episode the other day when Matt was like "look, he's all GROWN up" lol......... and then not long after Leah was like "you grew up so fast" or something hahahaha..... I was like, yeah, no ****!

[Spinach]

Happy birthday VJ. 13 today and not looking a day older than 21...

[chels24]

Happy birthday VJ. 13 today and not looking a day older than 21...

lol VJ will be 15 he was aged a couple of years at the start of 2007 when Dan died and Felix started playing him

[pembie]

I do find VJ funny these days

[Red Ranger 1]

I just find the whole thing massively disappointing.VJ was a character too ingrained in the show to have his age messed about with but what we're left with is some very awkward halfway house.In Jett and VJ, we had two teenagers who actually looked like teenagers, rather than the usual 15-year-olds-played-by-23-year-olds, and if they were going to recast VJ, they should have carried through with that and kept a realistic-looking teen group, as they've done with the supporting characters in that age group.But no, someone thought it would be a good idea to try and turn him into the show's new pin-up.

I think that, certainly in the early days, maybe even now, there was an attempt to write VJ the same.But imagining Felix Dean in those scenes just underlines the differences.If you change the face, the body, the voice and the mannerisms, then that's everything, however it may look on paper.You could imagine the old VJ going into a sulk about Leah's new relationship, but when he's suddenly towering over Leah he comes across as a lot more aggressive.Same with him punching a bully, it's a very different scene when you've got an actor playing VJ who could clearly do some damage if he wanted.In fact, I sat through the whole Tyson storyline not having a clue what the dynamic was supposed to be;Tyson looks way older than Felix Dean but with Matt Little they look about the same age, so is it meant to be an older boy picking on a younger one or not?To be fair, the scenes with Jett almost work, you can believe that they're about the same age when they bounce off each other.The problem really kicks in when he has scenes with the likes of Sasha and Matt, and this character who was like a younger brother figure to them a few months ago is suddenly acting like he's their age.The new VJ just doesn't have the right mindset or physicality to act younger than the people he should be younger than.

In one of those random thought trails, I found myself earlier today recalling how VJ and Lily were born on the same day and how nearly ten years later they were able to bring her back and play with that connection.And then I thought "Well...what if she came back now?Either they'd recast her as a 25-year-old bombshell or they'd have Matt Little playing romantic scenes against a girl nearly a decade younger than him and trying not to look creepy."I'm not saying it was likely either way (and even the existing SORAS required us to quietly ignore the fact that Will and Gypsy weren't old enough to be her parents) but it's another example of how changing VJ like this has messed about with the show's infrastructure.

[elikell]

I just find the whole thing quite strange. VJ and Jett now LOOK like they're not even close to the same age and I find it hard to believe. It's really made me hate the character purely based on how Matt Little looks as VJ compared to when Felix Dean played him. It just doesn't look like they should even be in the same classroom.

It's jarring, and it hurts VJ's character.

[dee123]

I feel they should get an assistant to go out into the bush while on location and find a log or a tree stump. This re-cast would be quite cost affective and i doubt most of the audience will notice a difference.

Edited February 8, 2015 by dee123

[dncllpyk]

I don't like the new VJ Matt Little is too old to be playing him. I have nothing against Matt Little but he is just not VJ I preferred him in Neighbours as Paiges brother. It looks weird in the scenes with Jett he looks more like Jetts older brother than his best mate. They have ruined the character as well. At first I tried to give him a chance but I just can't accept him as VJ

[Guest]

I don't like the new VJ Matt Little is too old to be playing him. I have nothing against Matt Little but he is just not VJ I preferred him in Neighbours as Paiges brother. It looks weird in the scenes with Jett he looks more like Jetts older brother than his best mate. They have ruined the character as well. At first I tried to give him a chance but I just can't accept him as VJ

100% agree I started watching in 2005/2006 I can't remember who played VJ before Felix Dean in 2007.

[sindikatas]

What I hate about this recast is that VJ has completely changed his attitude. For example, when he punched Matt, I really wanted Matt to punch him back.