10 Actresses Who Were Barely Legal To Play These Roles And 10 Who Were Too Old
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In Hollywood, actors and actresses will often go to extreme lengths to land the roles that they desire; some will completely transform their bodies while others will use acting strategies to appear more mature or younger. With all the technology provided nowadays on set, along with makeup and wardrobe, it is very often easy for actresses to fool their audiences because these tools make it easy for actresses to slip into roles that are much older or much younger than them.
Growing up and watching movies or TV shows that took place in a high school setting, we all thought we would look as flawless and mature as the actors — because let's face it in the mid to late 2000s, none of us looked as good as the Mean Girls cast. Have you ever noticed that in high school movies like Grease, Mean Girls and Clueless, the women all look very foxy and curvy, and the men are all very well built and macho? We are sure you have, and then compared it to your high school days; not the same, right? Well, the reason behind this is as simple as it gets, the actresses and actors are much older than their roles.
However, on the other end of the spectrum, we also have noticed that there is a broad stretch of actresses who have played roles that were much younger than they are, which makes us call into the question the director's and producers' intentions. Keep reading for a look at actresses who were far younger and older than their onscreen roles.
Winona Ryder Was Too Young For Her Wrinkly Role
When growing up with an actress, and avidly following their career, it could make one cringe to see them cast in a much older film role when being aware of their actual age. This was the case for Winona Ryder fans when J.J. Abrams offered her a role in the Star Trek reboot that she accepted. Playing Amanda Grayson, who is Spock’s aging mother, it was apparent that Ryder was way younger than the role she was cast in.
Spock, played by actor Zachary Quinto, was a mere five years younger than Ryder during filming, which makes us question why directors would cast Ryder to play the role of his mother.
However, with age makeup, Ryder looks like she lived for ages in the film, so it worked for them, but it was harsh for Ryder fans to witness — it is hard to forget those excessive wrinkles.
Jennifer Lawrence Is Always Aged Up
If there is one actress who always brings her A-game and nails every role she is cast in, it is the infamous Jennifer Lawrence. Every time she takes on a project, it works out perfectly, so it is no mystery why directors like David O. Russell keep on casting her in roles that she needs to be aged up in without a worry. J. Law played a widow in the Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook, an unhappy wife in American Hustle, and most recently, an almost middled-aged woman in Mother!. And though all these roles have helped her career boost, the one common thing is that J.Law was way too young to play these roles alongside her more mature co-stars. Though she still managed to fool us about her age onscreen in all these films because of her incredible acting skills, it is her fresh and young face that works against her.
Kristen Dunst Had An Old Soul
How awkward must it be to have your first kiss on the big screen when only 11 years old? We could ask Kristen Dunst that one, as it happened to her when she starred in the film Interview with the Vampire. Dunst, who played the role of Claudia, was only 11 years old at the time and was surrounded by Hollywood hunks almost twice her age, like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. We do not know whose idea it was to cast Dunst, who was barely an adult then, as the girl who turns into a vampire. Any other woman would probably not have minded being in her place, but at 11 years old, some of the scenes between Pitt and Dunst pushed the boundaries. In the movie, her character’s mind matures, but not her body — what a coincidence.
Dakota Fanning Was Too Young To Play A Rocker
Directors and producers like to mess with our heads, especially when it comes to actresses and their ages compared to their roles. Since the beginning of her career, we have always associated the blonde and petite actress Dakota Fanning with innocence, until she was casted as a female rock star in the film adaptation of the band The Runaways. We saw Fanning all cute and tiny in the The Cat in the Hat, and then we saw her playing Cherie Currie, a lead vocalist in the midst of the rock and roll era of the 1970s. And with rock and roll came the party lifestyle, and so, at only 16 years old, it was definitely not the brightest choice to have had an underage girl experimenting with such havocs. The rebellious activity that Currie experimented with was certainly not as innocent as Fanning was at 16 years of age.
Jodie Foster Was Too Young For The Scorsese Classic
Many of Martin Scorsese's films are considered classics, and one of his heavyweight hits that remains a classic until this day, is Taxi Driver. At only 12 years old, Jodie Foster had already quite a few films under her belt before Scorsese cast her alongside the great Robert De Niro. Foster played the role of Iris, a young entertainer that Scorsese obviously thought Foster was mature enough to play. And who better than De Niro to have by your side when playing such a speculative role, correct?
De Niro must have taken Foster under his wings to make sure the very young actress was comfortable enough to play the role she was cast in.
The 1976 classic was a highlight career for both Foster and De Niro, but it is absolutely not far-fetched to say it must have been awkward for both.
Sasha Pieterse Was Young To Be A Liar
Want to hear a pretty little lie? Sasha Pieterse, who starred as Alison DiLaurentis on the hit drama series Pretty Little Liars, was not even close to the age she was portrayed as in the show, let alone, legal. When Pieterse landed her role as Alison, who was the main character of the mysterious and dramatic series, she was just 12 years old — yes, 12! Cast as a high schooler, Alison was also younger than all the other pretty little liars, who were more of age to play their roles. Yes, we know you are all freaking out right now and cannot phantom that the Alison DiLaurentis, that we saw onscreen, was played by a 12 year old. At some point, she did reach her character's age in the show, but then took steps back again when the show took a leap forward in years.
Nikki Reed Was Too Young For Her Own Biography
At some point in high school, we all watched the movie Thirteen, and thought to ourselves "what the heck?" Well now, we are going to give you another reason to feel that way about the film because Nikki Reed and Evan Rachel Wood were 15 to 16 years old when filming and were involved in such havoc and reckless behaviour in the film. Though the movie was somewhat biographical and based on Reed's life, the actresses cast in the roles should have been older and more mature women as seeing these two hellbent teens way of life was not a great influence on younger audiences. Their roles were a reflection of teenage girls that we do not see too often, and so, seeing and knowing how young they were was too intense. Evidently, their partying lifestyle (and all that comes with it), led to a downward spiral and it was uncomfortable to watch two adolescent girls play those roles.
Kate Bosworth Was Too Young For Superman
When Superman returned, they forgot that his girlfriend should have been a woman that was just a little older. Fans anticipated for Superman Returns, waiting a long time to see their perfect superhero and his perfect journalist love interest, but, Superman Returns missed the mark because of awkward chemistry.
Lois Lane, who has a 5-year-old child in the film, was cast by a young adult Kate Bosworth, who was 22 when she took on the role of the woman who makes Superman weaker than kryptonite.
Though Bosworth executed the superhero story very well, there was missing a certain dynamite to it, and that is because she was just too young for the role. She did not lack maturity as an actress, it was just evident that Bosworth was nowhere near where Lane was in her life in the film.
Scarlet Johansson Got Lost In Age
Who can resist the blonde bombshell Scarlett Johansson? Not many, and maybe that is the reason why the director of Lost in Translation was so keen on getting her on-board. At a very quick glance of Johansson in the film, it is hard to tell what age she was during filming, but it is evident alongside her co-star, actor Bill Murray, that she was nowhere near his age. Considering the film had Johansson take on a semi-romantic role, they should have probably cast an actress closer to Murray's age, who was 53 at the time of filming. Now, though the film must have helped Johansson's acting career, there is no understanding why they would cast Johansson to play a college graduate, when she was only 18.
Beyoncé Was Too Young To Be Clad In Gold
Do you remember when Queen B had her shot on the big screen? Let us refresh your memory; Beyoncé played a rather big part in the third and final instalment of the Austin Powers series, Austin Powers in Goldmember. Yes, Beyoncé played a very foxy and seductive Foxxy Cleopatra, who fit exactly the 1970s groovy image there was then. In the film, Beyoncé plays Foxxy Cleopatra, who is often dressed in a revealing manner throughout the film and is also the love interest of the shaggy Austin Powers, played by Mike Myers. What many do not know is that when Beyoncé was cast to play the role of an exotic, undercover special agent, in an erotic rom com film, she was only 20 years old. Yes, the actress who was clad in gold and tight spandex clothing, was way too young to be cast in the role of a sultry women from the 1970s.
Stacy Dash Was Too Old To Be Clueless
The director of Clueless probably assumed that we would be clueless as well and not realize the age difference between character and actress.
Stacy Dash, who plays the fetch and popular girl Dionne in high school, was way past her high school days in real life and was 29 years old when she scored the role in this classic chick flick.
The cult classic featured teenagers who were 15 to 17 years old, and it was obvious in Dash's case that she was way past the whole high school phase. She played the role of a privileged 15-year-old Beverly Hills rich kid opposite Alicia Silverstone, who everyone was instantly obsessed with because they were rich and beautiful. And though Dash played her spoiled role to key, she was a tiny bit old for high school — thank you for the false hope.
Rachel McAdams Was An Older Mean Girl
According to Rachel McAdams' character, "on Wednesdays, we wear pink." Everyone could admit how much the film Mean Girls is one of their guilty pleasures, because we know it is. Rachel McAdams, who portrayed Regina George, the leader of the Plastics, in the 2004 movie, was way older than the Queen Bee character she played.
Set in the concrete jungle, McAdams was a decade older than her teenage role in the hit movie.
McAdams, who was 26 during filming, blended in so well with her fellow Plastics; she did come up with the Burnbook after all. McAdams has a vast film career, but her best is undoubtedly the iconic Regina George, who blessed us with some pretty epic one-liners. And thank you McAdams, for making fetch happen.
Stockard Channing Was Older Than Rizzo
The musical classic that we all love did have a couple main characters who were a tad old to play the parts of teens. Though it was palpable with the Thunderbirds’ heavy duty and macho looks and the Pink Ladies’ foxy sophistication that the cast were all more mature than teens, Rizzo is the one character whose mature personality stood out among the others. Stockard Channing, who played the role of the outgoing and rebellious Rizzo, was 33 years old when she filmed Grease! Rizzo made us all think women would be like her in high school, and now we know why they were not. The "Look at me I'm Sandra Dee" singer was the perfect mix to add to the Pink Ladies group, and though Channing was way too old to play Betty Rizzo, she was just right. To those who have complained: "some people are so touchy."
Carey Mulligan Was Too Old To Be A Flapper
The classic 1925 novel written by the late F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, was remade into a motion picture film in 2013 featuring A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. But what about the somewhat "antagonist" character in the movie and novel, Daisy Buchanan? Who was she? Daisy, played by actress Carey Mulligan, remained very true to the novel throughout the film, and (not) surprisingly was way older than we thought. Mulligan, who had her first breakthrough and major role because of this film, was 11 years older than her character; Mulligan was 28 years old when she played the 18-year-old love interest of Jay Gatsby. The flapper girl did fool us though, we definitely did think, with all her partying antics and marriage to Tom Buchanan, that she was older than 18. Good job, you old sport.
Jennifer Grey Wasn’t A Baby
We are sure Jennifer Grey had "the time of her life" playing her role as Baby in the classic romantic drama dance film, Dirty Dancing. However, though Grey's character's name was Baby in the hit film, Grey was nowhere close to being a baby, or a teenager as a matter of fact. Grey, was 27 years old when she played 17-year-old Baby Houseman in one of the most memorable films of the 1980s. It did work in one way for Grey because she had a very fresh face, but her sizzling dancing scenes alongside the late Hollywood hunk Patrick Swayze, said otherwise. Again, we would have never guessed that Baby was still a teenager because of Grey's maturity. Either way, legal or not, nobody puts Baby in a corner.
Winona Ryder Was Also Too Old
Here she is again, the versatile Winona Ryder, but this time, she was just way too old for her role. Based on a novel, Girl, Interrupted, filmed in 1999, had Ryder play the main character of the film, Susanna Kaysen. Moviegoers saw a film with Ryder and Angelina Jolie pull off tremendous roles, and to our disbelief, Ryder was nearly 30 when she played the 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen who was placed in a psychiatric facility because of her borderline personality disorder. Ryder pulled it off very easily and made viewers forget the age difference between character and actor when she pulled off all her painfully tense scenes throughout the film. The film was also set in the 1960s, and Ryder's mature face was the main thing that gave the age away.
Barbara Streisand Failed Just Once
Is there anything that the infamous Barbara Streisand cannot do? A songwriter, actress, singer and director, Streisand has pulled off everything she has touched, even winning herself an Oscar for Best Actress. Sadly though, there came a point in Streisand's career where she was unable to do exactly what she wanted, which was convince audiences that she was as young as her character in the film Yentl.
Many may not know the massive film, since it was released in 1983, but the musical drama, that had Streisand direct it and cast herself as the main girl in the plot, failed to make us understand the reality of the film. Streisand could have easily cast any other actress of age, but she decided to put her 40-year-old self at the time in the feet of a 17-year-old teenage character. It was clearly obvious that Streisand was double the age of her character, especially when everyone knew Streisand very well at the time.
Jennifer Aniston Was A Total Boss
Not that Jennifer Aniston is old or wrinkly or anything, she is still as foxy as she was in Friends, but there are roles one has just got to refuse to not seem so desperate. Men might hate us for admitting this, but your favourite 1990s bombshell, Jen Aniston, was a little too old to play the role of the hot and seductive boss in Horrible Bosses. Evidently, she got this role because no man can resist the jaw-dropping Aniston, but it was odd to watch Rachel from Friends play the naughty boss who was going after one of her employees. There are so many younger and foxy actresses out there, and so, we concluded that Aniston, at her age, should not have played the role of the hot seductress whose goals is to get her employee to cheat on his wife with her. And no one was “on a break!”
Shirley Henderson Was Way Older Than Her Hogwarts Co-stars
If you are a die-hard fan of Harry Potter, then you might already know the secret I am about to reveal, if not, a fair warning, you may be shocked. Shirley Henderson, who first played in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and then Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was cast as Moaning Myrtle, a Hogwarts student. And students in Hogwarts were all young tweens, right? Well, the 5-foot-tall actress was actually 37 years old when she first played Moaning Myrtle, which clearly does not fit the description of a student, but rather a teacher. The massive age gap was a little sealed because of her height, but we all knew that the actress was much older than her character. Older than her fellow students, Henderson took on the role of Moaning Myrtle a second time, and this time she was 40 years old when she played a 14-year-old.
Olivia Newton-John Was Older Than Sandy
The Australian sweetheart, with the innocent face, did not fool us all in Grease, especially when she put on that black skin-tight outfit and red pumps. As mentioned previously, Grease was an instant hit, with a bunch of females and males whose hormones seemed way above high school level, giving us all false hope as children and young teenagers. We all thought we would look as sultry as Sandy and as striking as Danny, but we were wrong. And why is that? Because, they were mostly all adults acting. Olivia Newton-John, who played the iconic role of Sandy, appeared as an innocent little butterfly throughout the musical, and we could have given the age gap the benefit of the doubt, but towards the end, we knew that Newton-John was way older than the Sandy that Danny met at the beach. To be more precise, she was 30 years old when she played 17-year-old Sandy.
