Casting is an essential aspect of any great film. More than anything else, the audience needs to believe that the character and the actor portraying them are one and the same.
Most of the time, casting directors succeed. But every once in a while — they fall flat on their face. See what I mean and check out these actresses who were either barely legal for their part or way too old.
Jennifer Lawrence was too young for the part of Tiffany in ‘Silver Lining’s Playbook’.
Considering that Bradley Cooper is more than 15 years her senior, it seemed odd that Jennifer would be cast as the love interest opposite him. Especially since she portrays a widow in the film.
Sally Field was too old to be Forrest’s mother in ‘Forrest Gump’.
Sally Field is only 10 years older than Tom Hanks in real life. She did an amazing job in Forrest Gump , but once you realize that it’s literally impossible for her to be Forrest’s mother, the magic is slightly lessened.
Rachel McAdams was too old to play Regina George in ‘Mean Girls’.
In the movie, Regina George is supposed to be roughly 17-years-old. At the time of the film’s release, Rachel McAdams was 26 and had already been out of high school for nearly a decade.
Winona Ryder was too young to play Spock’s mother in ‘Star Trek’.
Keep in mind that Spock’s mother is human, so the argument of the ageless Vulcan doesn’t apply. What made everything worse was the cheap prosthetics and makeup she had to wear in order to age herself up.
Dafne Keen was probably too young to appear as X-23 in ‘Logan’.
Don’t hear what I’m not saying: I think that Dafne Keen did a phenomenal job as X-23. But when you stop to think for a moment about how violent a movie Logan is, even the most liberal of parents likely wouldn’t want their young child exposed to such things.
Kate Bosworth was way too young to portray Lois Lane in ‘Superman Returns’.
Keep in mind that Superman Returns isn’t an origin story — hence the “Returns” part in the title. Lois Lane should have been in her mid-to-late 30s, not 22-years-old like Kate Bosworth was at the time.
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Chloe Grace Moretz was too young to play Hit-Girl in ‘Kick-Ass’.
Once again, let me preface this by saying that Chloe Grace Moretz is one of my favorite actresses and well on her way to establishing herself as this generation’s Scream Queen. That being said, when Kick-Ass came out, she was still just a teenage girl decapitating people on the big screen.
Kirsten Dunst was far too young for her part in ‘Interview With A Vampire’.
Have you actually seen Interview with a Vampire ? It’s creepy as shit. Not for the macabre/supernatural elements, but more so for the kiss scene between Brad Pitt and an 11-year-old Kirsten Dunst.
Kirsten Dunst was too old to play Mary Jane Watson in ‘Spider-Man’.
Conversely, absolutely nobody was believing that Kirsten was a 17-year-old Mary Jane Watson in the first Spider-Man film. It’s not that her performance was poor, just largely unbelievable.
Denise Richards was too old to play Kelly Lanier Van Ryan in ‘Wild Things’.
This is the film that helped to make Denise Richards a superstar. Despite her impressive performance, Denise was still roughly 10 years older than she should have been to play the part of a high school student.
Mila Kunis had to lie about her age for her role in ‘That 70s Show’.
Here’s a nostalgic TV fun fact for you: Mila Kunis had to literally lie in order to get the part of Jackie on That 70s Show . When Mila was originally hired, she was only 14-years-old.
Olivia Newton-John was a lot older than Sandy Olsen in ‘Grease’.
Don’t think that I’m just singling out Olivia. When you stop, look, and think about it for a second — the entire cast of Grease were all far older than the characters that they were portraying.
Dakota Fanning was too young to play Cherie Currie in ‘The Runaways’.
I’ve watched Dakota Fanning on the big screen for almost as long as I can remember. As magnificent as she undoubtedly was in The Runaways , I couldn’t help but think that this was the same little girl from I Am Sam getting belligerently drunk and experimenting with drugs.
Neve Campbell was too old to portray Sidney Prescott in ‘Scream’.
As far as I’m concerned, Scream is the greatest horror movie to come out of Hollywood in the last 30-plus years. Still, that doesn’t make up for the fact that Neve Campbell looks like she’s already finished her college degree.
Natalie Portman was way too young for her role in ‘Leon: The Professional’.
Natalie Portman herself has come out and publically discussed how she was too young to appear in Leon: The Professional . She said that being sexualized at such a young age made her afraid.
