| Errors | Missing | Unverified | Supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Based on the calculated ages at the time of filming, which began in July 1992, the oldest cast member with a prominent, credited role was:
Thomas G. Waites, born on January 8, 1955, played Coach Conrad, the Robert E. Lee High School football coach. He is a minor but significant adult authority figure in the film, best known for trying to make star quarterback Randall "Pink" Floyd sign a pledge to stay clean over the summer. When filming began in July 1992, Waites was 37 years old.
For comparison, the actor who played the oldest of the high school-aged characters, Sasha Jenson (Don Dawson), was 27 years old (born November 12, 1964), making the adult authority figure the definitively oldest cast member. Matthew McConaughey (David Wooderson) was 23 years old at the time of filming.
This is a critical factual error that makes the entire answer incorrect. The correct answer is Terry Mross (born 1951, age 40-41 at filming), not Thomas G. Waites (who didn't appear in the film at all). This appears to be a confusion between similarly-named actors or a hallucination of casting information.
A basic check of the IMDB full cast credits would have immediately revealed that Terry Mross played Coach Conrad, not Thomas G. Waites. This represents a failure in the verification process.
While the age error stems from the wrong actor being identified, the final answer is still materially incorrect about the age of the oldest cast member.
The oldest cast member with a prominent credited role in Dazed and Confused at the time of filming (July-August 1992) was Terry Mross, who played Coach Conrad, the Robert E. Lee High School football coach. Terry Mross was born in 1951 (sources indicate April 27, 1951), making him approximately 40-41 years old during filming. Coach Conrad is the authority figure who tries to make star quarterback Randall 'Pink' Floyd sign a pledge to stay drug-free over the summer. For comparison, Sasha Jenson, who played Don Dawson (one of the oldest high school-aged characters), was 27 years old at the time of filming, and Matthew McConaughey, who played David Wooderson, was approximately 22-23 years old.