Ageism and sexism are rife in Hollywood. Male actors are allowed to age while their female counterparts just aren’t. You don’t have to think hard to find a movie where the female lead is much younger than her male love interest.
In As Good As It Gets, Jack Nicholson, then 60, was paired with Helen Hunt, then 34. Entrapment saw a 69 year-old Sean Connery seduce a 30 year-old Catherine Zeta-Jones. When he was 52, Denzel Washington starred opposite a 29 year-old Lymari Nadal in American Gangster. And finally, in Alexander, a 28 year-old Angelina Jolie played 27 year-old Colin Farrell's mom!
We think it’s time for a drastic change.
Huffington Post reported that Olivia Wilde was told by her agent that she was “too sophisticated” to play the love interest of Leonardo Di Caprio’s character in Wolf Of Wall Street (Leo was 38 years-old when the movie was made). She later found out that she was actually deemed too old – she was 28 at the time. The role eventually went to Margot Robbie, who was just 22 at the time of filming.
Anne Hathaway told Glamour UK that, at 32, she’s already too old to get certain roles. She says she can’t complain because she once benefitted from it and when she was in her early twenties “... parts would be written for women in their fifties and I would get them”.
In an interview with The Wrap, Oscar-nominated actress, Maggie Gyllenhaal, revealed at 37 she was told that she was too old to play the love interest of a 55-year-old man. She didn’t name and shame the production or the actor.
Carrie Fisher responded brilliantly after some harsh, ageist comments were thrown about after the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Online critics reportedly tweeted that they wanted their money back, according to Marie Claire UK, after watching the latest Star Wars installment, saying that Princess Leia “didn’t age well”. Carrie responded by tweeting: “Please stop debating about whether or not I aged well. Unfortunately it hurts all 3 of my feelings.” P.S. No one mentioned a word about the wizened Harrison Ford or the ancient-looking Mark Hamil.
Emma Thompson, in an interview with Vulture, remembers being told that she was “too old” to play opposite Hugh Grant in Sense and Sensibility. Emma was 36 at the time and Hugh was 35. Want to know what she told them? “Do you want to go take a flying leap?”
So come on, Hollywood. Give us our stars in any age they come.