Unrealistic age of female actors

[MoltenLasagne]

I know this is a petty issue, but lately I've been noticing and becoming increasingly annoyed at the unrealistic age of female actors in films and tv shows.

It's not so much the creepiness of having extremely young love interests for much older men (although obviously that gets repetitive and gross) but there have been a number of times lately where the woman playing the mother is so young compared to her adult children that it makes me question the plot.

The most recent example was in The Last Kingdom, where Eliza Butterworth (25) plays the mother of Aethelfled played by Millie Brady (25). I honestly spent time trying to figure out whether I'd missed some kind of step-mother related plot point.

Is it getting worse, or is it just me? And why on earth do casting / directors do this?! (I think I know the answer to that...)

A lot of women also seem to find older men attractive (e.g. Sean Connery being voted sexiest msn alive in his 60s) but the reverse doesn't seem to be true. I wonder if part of it is the 'authority' thing.

I suppose part of it could be that older, extremely wealthy men often have younger wives, something less seen in the general population where the man in question didn't have the lure of a burgeoning bank account

But we're not talking about the actors in real life. We're talking about their characters, most of whom are not 'extremely wealthy' and therefore, as you say, would be highly unlikely to have much younger wives.

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool. Annette Bening (60s) has a relationship with a younger man - Jamie Bell (I think late 20s/early 30s).

In one scene there’s Jamie Bell, Annette Bening, Frances Barber and Vanessa Redgrave onscreen. 3 women over 50 in one film, all allowed together in one scene? I nearly fell off my chair.

I haven’t got to the end yet so no spoilers!

A lot of women also seem to find older men attractive (e.g. Sean Connery being voted sexiest msn alive in his 60s)

The idea that women generally find older men hot is mostly male fantasy - a fantasy reinforced by these films. And who 'voted' for Connery as 'sexiest man alive'? If you want to go by such lists, however, you'll find that the most fancied men are usually quite young and hunky - the likes of Chris Hemsworth, Jason Momoa, Aidan Turner etc.

Please don't try to pretend that older men are playing opposite younger women because that's how women prefer it. Because that's nonsense.

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool. Annette Bening (60s) has a relationship with a younger man - Jamie Bell (I think late 20s/early 30s).

Isn't that film based on a true story though?

I think so Iced. Probably wouldn’t have been made otherwise.

But we're not talking about the actors in real life. We're talking about their characters, most of whom are not 'extremely wealthy' and therefore, as you say, would be highly unlikely to have much younger wives.

Oh, I know. I was just speculating that for the Hollywood lot, with loads of hangers on and young hopefuls fawning around them, it probably seems less odd - still a bit hmm though.

Ultimately, it's probably just a manner of marketing if you will. Eye candy for the male viewers.

Hollywood is a cess pit of men from what I can make out lately, Producers, Directors, actors. It makes you want to take a shower when you read some things.

Ultimately, it's probably just a manner of marketing if you will. Eye candy for the male viewers

What about eye candy for the female viewers, who would be in the majority for many of the films mentioned?

What about eye candy for the female viewers, who would be in the majority for many of the films mentioned?

Maybe they're just sticking to a winning formula. If it didn't fare well commercially they likely wouldn't do it.

I do agree it's one sided though. Not contesting that, just looking at why it is. Very likely influenced by the dominance of men in the industry as pointed out.

I want to be fair to the Last Kingdom. It spans a long period. Alfred actor can't be that old either. Uhtred isn't he on family number 3 now? Should be getting on a bit. It's only going to get worse unless they take a decade long break in filming!

I really noticed this in The Crown, I think only 13 years between Victoria Hamilton (Queen Mum) and Clare Foy. Not even as though they needed them to age right, as they were recasting after 2 seasons anyway.

Maybe they're just sticking to a winning formula. If it didn't fare well commercially they likely wouldn't do it.

What evidence is there that having unrealistic age gaps between actors is a 'winning formula'? Do cinema goers really think "I will only go to that film provided the man is at least 15 years older than the woman"?

Women certainly don't. In fact, I know of quite a few women who - like myself - will refuse to go to a film when there is a gratuitous age gap.

Also, I think you're wrong to assume that everything done in Hollywood is done for logical commerical reasons. Producers, casting agents etc - most of whom are men - have their own prejudices and agendas, which will be reflected in their films.

@FreiasBathtub

Also, 10 years age difference between Vanessa Kirby and Matthew Goode, even though Princess Margaret and Armstrong Jones were the same age.

Mind you, Matthew Goode is beautiful so I'll not complain overmuch!

Perhaps the problem in your example (and like Outlander and Poldark) is that the story spans decades and they want to use the same actors but don't bother to age them convincingly. In Outlander, for example, the actors are actually in their late 30's so 'just' old enough to have a 20yr old daughter.

Apart from that I agree. My DH was watching a film with Sean Penn in a while ago and his love interest was about a third of his age, so much so that at first I thought she was playing his daughter. It made me feel a little bit sick, if I'm honest.

"Princess Margaret and Armstrong Jones were the same age."

You what?

Him born 1914, her born 1930.

...sorry. Townsend. Ignore me.

And Grease with Olivia Newton John (now 70) and John Travolta (now 64). Six year age gap

And Sandra Bullock (50 odd, I think) playing a new Mum in Bird Box

So you had to go all the way back to the 1970s to find a film where the woman is unrealistically older - though only by a few years? Films where the reverse happens - and often with a much bigger age gap - come out all the time. I could name you several from the last few years without even thinking about it much.

Each season of The Crown spans a decade so Clare Foy played Elizabeth over a twenty year period.

I think there’s a big difference between this kind of long-spanned drama and, say, an action film that covers a few days at most.

To put it another way, Elizabeth is almost twice as old in Foys last episode as she was in her first.

I don't think anyone here has criticised Clare Foy's casting though, have they?

No, I’m just drawing a distinction between long-spanning drama and short spanned drama. Foy and Matt Smith’s ages are comparable but if, say, Smith had been forty he’d have been the right age for the character by the end of the series while Foy would have been about the right age at the start. An age gap wouldn’t have been such an issue.