Hollywood has a bad track record of casting young actors in age-inappropriate roles. For example, when 11-year-old Kristen Dunst kissed a 29-year-old Brad Pitt in Interview With a Vampire .
On the flip side, they sometimes cast actors in roles they are far too old for. Like when Mel Gibson portrayed a 16-year-old in Hamlet when he was 34!
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Tobey Maguire In *Spider-Man 3*
Up until Tom Holland became Spider-Man, none of the other actors to put on the Spidey suit looked like they were young enough to portray a teenager.
This especially included Tobey who was in his late 20s during filming.
Colin Farrell In *Alexander*
The movie was incredibly poorly reviewed, and one of the reasons might have to do with how age-inappropriate the Irish actor was.
This was made weirder by the fact that Angelina Jolie, who was only one year older, played Colin’s mother.
Steve Carell In *Get Smart*
It’s hard not to love Steve Carrell, but it was pretty difficult getting past his age — 46 — during filming.
This would have been fine had Anne Hathaway, his love interest in the film, not been 25 at the time.
Olivia Newton John in *Grease*
If you thought the flying car at the end of the movie was unbelievable, then just wait until you learn that John was 28 when she was portraying a teenager.
In comparison, John Travolta was 23.
Barbra Streisand in *Yentl*
When the star starred in the 1983’s dramatic musical, she captivated audiences.
But she lost some of that star quality once you realized that she was playing a 17-year-old when she was 40.
Mel Gibson In *Hamlet*
That haircut wasn’t fooling anyone!The actor was 34 when he was portraying a 16-year-old. Let us repeat that again: 16!
Mel may have been a good actor, but they could have found some other actor closer to the character’s age.
Sandra Bullock in *The Proposal*
Despite rumors that they dated in real-life, viewers failed to see the chemistry between Sandra and Ryan’s characters.
This could have had something to do with the fact that Sandra is 12 years older than Ryan.
Natalie Dormer in *Game of Thrones*
While Natalie was the perfect casting to play Lady Olenna’s granddaughter in the show, it was still odd that she was 32 years old portraying an 18-year old.
This also made her marriage to the character Tommen even more inappropriate.
Anthony Hopkins in *Red Dragon*
There is absolutely nothing bad you could say about the actor’s acting. He’s one of the best in the business.
However, him trying to pretend that he was 15 years younger than he is ended up being super distracting.
Rachel McAdams in *Mean Girls*
It’s always going to seem rather odd when an adult tries to portray a teenager in a movie.
That was the case with McAdams who was 25 at the time of filming. In her defense, though, she nailed it.
Roger Moore in *A View to Kill*
The actor was almost 60 when he took on the role of James Bond.
Unfortunately, his age made it difficult for viewers to accept him as the super suave agent. Plus, seeing young girls throw themselves at him in the movie was super weird.
Michelle Pfeiffer in *Up Close & Personal*
The actress may be absolutely gorgeous, but it still didn’t make sense that she was 38 when she played an “aspiring protegée” of a news director.
This just ended up being super unconvincing.
Woody Allen In *Husbands And Wives*
The director was 56 in the film. This made it all the more inappropriate when Juliette Lewis, who was 19 at the time, played his love interest.
This led to a 37-year age gap that’s hard to ignore.
Robert De Niro in *Good Fellas*
The actor was 47 when he portrayed someone in their late 20s.
While he did a convincing job as a mobster, the film seemed pretty convinced that they could just dye his hair black and call it a day.
Liam Neeson in *Taken 3*
The Taken franchise was absolutely incredible, but let’s be honest: most action movie stars star hit their stride in their younger years.
For Neeson, his big moment hit when he was middle-aged.
Meryl Streep in *Mammia Mia: Here We Go Again*
It would have been fine for Meryl Streep to play Amanda Seyfried’s character’s mother if it weren’t for Cher playing her mother.
In real life, Cher is only three years older than Meryl.
Jennifer Aniston In *Horrible Bosses*
No one can deny that Jennifer looks ah-mazing for her age (check out her anti-aging secrets here) .
But, it was hard for viewers to take her seriously as a middle-aged dentist who wore skimpy outfits and tried to seduce her staff.
Halle Berry in *Frankie & Alice*
While Berry nabbed an Emmy nomination for the role, the overall reviews for the movie were pretty poor.
This could have had something to do with Berry being 44 in real life and playing a part that called for a young actress to play a go-go dancer.
Kevin Spacey In Beyond The Sea
What would you say if we told you that above is a picture of Kevin playing a 20-year-old singer?
You’d say that makes no sense at all and it certainly wasn’t believable. Nice try, Kev.
