30 Age Gaps Between Actors Who Played Parent And Child That Make No Sense In Real Life
While it's certainly naive to think that everything we see in the movies is real, some of the lies they pull off are really impressive. Like the actual age gaps between some of the actors who play parent and child. Take Heath Ledger and Kate Mara in Brokeback Mountain, for example. At the time of producing the movie, Ledger was 25 and Mara was 21. Yet their portrayal of Ennis and Alma Jr. was totally believable!
And this isn't a one-time thing; it happens more than you're probably aware of. But don't worry, Bored Panda is here to open your eyes. We have compiled a list of on-screen relatives with ridiculous real-life age differences, so sit back, continue scrolling, and you'll have a better understanding of Hollywood in no time.
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Estelle Getty Was Actually Younger Than Bea Arthur When She Played Her Mom In Golden Girls
But wait, there's more awkwardness when it comes to co-stars playing each other's relatives. For instance, they may end up having to work with people who have dated their exes. Weird, right? But I've got something even spicier. How about portraying family members with someone you actually date in real life!
It may sound unnatural to us but these are top-class professionals we're talking about and they have no problem with it. Georgia Moffett and David Tennant were daughter and father in Dr. Who but they started dating and even got married in 2011!
Also, Chris Pratt dated Emily VanCamp.These two secretly got together when they started to work together on Everwood, playing brother and sister but broke up after a couple of years together.
Angelina Jolie Was Colin Farrell's Mom In Alexander, But In Reality They’re Only A Year Apart
There's also a really meta example of these types of interesting relationship dynamics. Arrested Development was a show that had numerous references to incest and one time, the showrunners actually used a brother and sister duo to portray potential lovers.
In the episode "Family Ties", Michael Bluth (played by Jason Bateman) believes that he has another sister named Nellie (Justine Bateman). After going through the Bluth Company's old computer files, Michael finds a number for a girl with such a name. He believes this girl to be his long lost sister, but she is actually a prostitute who works for his father.
Michael hires Nellie for the Bluth Company, while unaware of her true profession, and eventually Nellie leads Michael to a hotel where she admits that she is attracted to him. So throughout the episode, Justine had to go on dinner dates with her real-life brother Jason, admit she was attracted to him and have him ask her to marry her at the end.
My point is this: When the chemistry between the actors is good, when the characters are well-developed and the make-up is spot-on, who cares if the stars are of a similar age or have a thing going on in real life? If it works, it works.
Sally Field Was Tom Hanks's Mom In Forrest Gump. However, She's Just 10 Years Older Than Him, And Even Played His Love Interest In Punchline A Few Years Earlier
When She Starred In This Is Us, Mandy Moore (36) Was Younger Than All Of The Actors Who Played Her Children
In Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Cher Played Meryl Streep's Mom Even Though She Was Only Three Years Older Than Her Co-Star
In Mean Girls, Amy Poehler Is Only Seven Years Older Than Her Daughter, Rachel Mcadams
maybe its because in the film she'd had loads of plastic surgery?
The Actors Who Played Father And Son In "Blue Bloods", Tom Selleck And Len Cariou, Have An Age Difference Of Just Six Years
Johnny Depp Is Five Years Older Than His Movie Mom In "Blow", Rachel Griffiths
Father And Son In Supernatural, Jeffrey Dean Morgan And Jensen Ackles, Were Born Just 12 Years Apart
In Jane The Virgin, Andrea Navedo Is Only Seven Years Older Than Her Daughter, Gina Rodriguez
It's pretty obvious from the start Andrea is too young to play mother of anyone older than 12. It really annoyed me in this series, they think we wouldn't notice?
"Flicka's" Main Character, Katy, Is Supposed To Be A Teenager. But The Actress, Alison Lohman, Was 27 At The Time, Making Her Just 13 Years Younger Than Her Movie Dad, Played By Tim Mcgraw
In Brokeback Mountain, The Age Difference Between Heath Ledger And Kate Mara Playing Father And Daughter Was Just Four Years
Elizabeth Rodriguez And Dascha Polanco Played Mother And Daughter In Orange Is The New Black, But In Real Life There's Less Than A Two-Year Age Gap Between Them
I think everyone noticed they could play sisters and no way mother and daughter. First time Dascha said "she is my mother" I was like "you have to be joking, she is your age!". but nope, they just hoped it will pass.
In Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, The Age Difference Between Sean Connery And Harrison Ford Is 12 Years
Bryce Dallas Howard Played Taron Egerton's Mom In Rocketman, But There's Only An Eight-Year Difference Between Them
Daughter And Mother: Janet Hubert And Karyn Parsons In The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
Yes but the thing with Janet Hubert is that she doesn't look much older now that she's 65.
Winona Ryder Is Only Six Years Older Than Zachary Quinto, And She Played His Mother In The 2009 Star Trek
This one kind of makes sense 'in universe', since Vulcans have a very long lifespan. Mother and son could look more or less the same age, even with a gap of 20/30 years.
Constance Marie Is Only Four Years Older Than Jennifer Lopez But She Played Her Mother In Selena
In The 2019 Film "Glass," Charlayne Woodard Plays The Mother Of Samuel L. Jackson's Character, Elijah (Aka Mr. Glass). The Only Problem Is That, At 66, She's Five Years Younger Than 71-Year-Old Jackson
Mother And Son: Julia Roberts & Ryan Reynolds In Fireflies In The Garden
Father And Son: John Noble And Sean Bean In The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Orlando Bloom is actually older than Lee Pace, who played his father in The Hobbit. That should have been on this list!
Cuba Gooding Jr. And Laurence Fishburne In 'Boyz N The Hood'
Laurence Fishburne has always looked much older than he is. He was only 14 in Apocalypse Now but passed as much older to get the role.
In Six Feet Under, Frances Conroy And Peter Krause Play Mother And Son, But They’re Only Separated By 12 Years
Mother And Son: Mary Steenburgen & Will Ferrell In Step Brothers
In "Footloose," The Stodgy Town Reverend, Played By John Lithgow, Is Only 12 Years Older Than His Fictional Daughter, Played By Lori Singer
In Prodigal Son, Bellamy Young (50) And Michael Sheen (51) Are Only 12 And 13 Years Older Than Tom Payne (38), Who Plays Their Son
Wesley Was Already 27 When He Was Cast As Stefan In "The Vampire Diaries." Stefan's Mother, Also A Vampire, Is Played By Annie Wersching, Who Is Only Six Years Older Than Wesley
Michael J. Fox And Lea Thompson Are The Same Age — Even Though Fox's Character In "Back To The Future" Is Thompson's Son. Her Older Look Was Achieved With Facial Prosthetics
Lorne Greene Was Only Seven Years Older Than Ava Gardner, Who Played His Daughter In This 1974 Disaster Film
In Blue Bloods, Len Cariou Plays Tom Selleck’s Father, Even Though There Is Only A Six-Year Difference In Age, With Cariou Being 81 And Selleck Being 75
Adam Garcia Is Two Years Older Than Drew Barrymore, And He Played Her Son In Riding In Cars With Boys
Merrilee Mccommas Is Just 10 Years Older Than Minka Kelly, Who Plays Her Daughter Lyla Garrity On "Friday Night Lights." Kelly Was Supposed To Be A High School Sophomore, But Was 26 When The Show Premiered
Step-Mother And Son: Kelly Rowan And Benjamin Mackenzie In The Oc
Well to be fair, a step mom can be younger than the children in real life too
There Was Only A 10-Year Age Gap Between John Marshall Jones And Essence Atkins, Even Though They Played Father And Daughter On Smart Guy
In General Hospital, Genie Francis (Laura Spencer) Is Only 10 Years Older Than Tyler Christopher (Nicholas Cassadine), Her Onscreen Son
This makes no sense . Genie Francis has been on gh since she was 17
Would be nice if they found a pic of the actual Tyler Christopher but...
Olivia Wilde And Justin Timberlake In 'In Time'. Justin Timberlake, Who Plays Olivia Wilde's Son In The Sci-Fi-Tinged Flick, Is Actually Three Years Older Than The Woman Who Plays His Mom
Did anyone see the movie? They are both supposed to be 25 because that's when you stop aging in this story
Lesley Fera Is Only 14 Years Older Than Her TV Daughter Troian Bellisario On "Pretty Little Liars." Bellisario Was 24 When She Was Cast To Play 16-Year-Old Spencer Hastings. Her Mother, Played By Fera, Was 38 At The Time
It's pretty much the problem with all four girls, as they are much closer to 30 than to teen year, some are in later seasons way over 30, while their "moms" are barely into 40s.
If The George Lopez Show Were Accurate, Belita Moreno's Character Would Have Been 11 When She Gave Birth To George
She looks old and dresses the part though, so the difference is believable
On The Parkers, Monique And Countess Vaughn Played Mother And Daughter, But There Was Only An 11-Year Age Gap
The weight ages the mother, sadly. The truth hurts, don’t get bitchy about it. She’s still pretty, but believable for being a mother of a 21 year old
Mother And Daughter: Holly Marie Comb And Lucy Hale In Pretty Little Liars
In The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Janet Hubert And Karyn Parsons Played Mother And Daughter. There’s Only A 10-Year Age Difference Between The Two
The Woman Who Played Mrs. Mulder In The X-Files Is Only A Year Older Than David Duchovny, Who Played Her Son
this is false. that's Rebecca Toolan and she was born in 1941. Duchovny was born in 60. she could totally be his mother.
Mother And Daughter Ginnifer Goodwin And Jennifer Morrison Are Only One Year Apart
Portraying something they're not?! pffft It's almost like they're actors or something.
I'm really bothered by how many of the mothers of teenagers and young adults don't even look close to the age they should be. Surely there must be actresses in the age range 40-60 that could play those roles instead? But you can't have women showing signs of age before they are over 60, can you... And can't have teenage girls who don't look like fully developed adults, either: nope, every women from teenager to middle ages needs to look like at least over 20 but no older than early 30s...
Yeah its crazy. Media seems to believe that women from 16 to 40 all look like 20yos. Then women in their 30s get hired to play the 40-60s
Load More Replies... I've been amazed at this for a while now. We're pretty occupied these days with unrealistic images for young girls and boys, but it stays the norm that 25+ year old play teenagers and the 30 year old that can't be teenagers anymore get to play the moms and dads.
We had an entire (lousy) TV show of that when "Glee" was on. So-called actors and actresses in their late 20s to early 30s trying desperately to portray high school kids.
Load More Replies... What is even more appalling is the HUGE age difference between leading men and their MUCH younger love interests in movies! Too bad female actors over 35 just go poof and disappear into thin air! Except for Helen Mirren of course.
If only Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep would disappear.
Load More Replies...
Surprised Chitty Chitty Bang Bang wasn't referenced. Lionel Jeffries (The grandfather) was a year younger than Richard Van Dyke (The father)
Some of these cases are ridiculous, but some have valid reasons. To me, as long as one looks the part and plays it convincingly, who care what age they are.
Agreed - in some of these films, the age difference is ridiculous. In other films used in this list, they needed a young actor who can play a character at different points in their lives. Hence, young actor plays plays young character & old character (with makeup). You can easily make someone look much older. But much younger with the use of makeup is not so easily done.
Ilona, you really were lazy. So many of these you just phoned in. Try to put an effort into copy and pasting next time, Lazy Ilona.
It's hardly a new thing. Jessie Royce Landis played Cary Grant's mother in "North By Northwest" and his eventual mother-in-law in "To Catch A Thief" while being a little over 7 years older than him and claiming to be the same age.
It happens in live theater all the time, too. About 20 years ago, I got a stage role in a show, along with an actress for whom I'd lusted for several years. It sounded great, until I realized that I'd be playing her father. I was 44 playing about 60 thanks to makeup, she was 35 playing 27 (and very convincingly, IMO). I put my libido on hold for the duration, as pursuing her under those circumstances would have been very wrong. We're still friends, I'm happy to say.
On the TV show Vikings, actor Travis Fimmel (Ragnar Lothbrok) is only 12 years older than Alexander Ludwig, who played Ragnar’s eldest son, Bjorn. Katherine Winnick, who played Bjorn’s mother Largetha, is 15 years older than Ludwig. In addition, Jordan Patrick Smith, who played Ubbe, Ragnar’s second oldest son and Bjorn’s younger brother by 14 years, is also 3 years older than Ludwig.
I don't know, I just found this post kinda silly. They're actors. They can be aged with makeup and prosthetics. While the information about age differences is interesting, it's not like it's real life and therefore scandalous. It's just Hollywood.
Makeup, prosthetics, soft focus, and even CGI can go only so far.
Load More Replies...
I recently re-watch As “Good as it Gets”. Helen Hunt was great, but they should’ve gotten an actress in her mid 40’s instead. 24-38 for teen and moms seem to be the standard in Hollywood and it looks ridiculous. I understand wanting actors/actresses to be over 18 years for legal reasons. But at least get 18-21 years olds to play teens. Most of them are in their late 20’s.
Exactly. Just hire actresses and actors in their 18-20 not in their late 20s
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Portraying something they're not?! pffft It's almost like they're actors or something.
I'm really bothered by how many of the mothers of teenagers and young adults don't even look close to the age they should be. Surely there must be actresses in the age range 40-60 that could play those roles instead? But you can't have women showing signs of age before they are over 60, can you... And can't have teenage girls who don't look like fully developed adults, either: nope, every women from teenager to middle ages needs to look like at least over 20 but no older than early 30s...
Yeah its crazy. Media seems to believe that women from 16 to 40 all look like 20yos. Then women in their 30s get hired to play the 40-60s
Load More Replies... I've been amazed at this for a while now. We're pretty occupied these days with unrealistic images for young girls and boys, but it stays the norm that 25+ year old play teenagers and the 30 year old that can't be teenagers anymore get to play the moms and dads.
We had an entire (lousy) TV show of that when "Glee" was on. So-called actors and actresses in their late 20s to early 30s trying desperately to portray high school kids.
Load More Replies... What is even more appalling is the HUGE age difference between leading men and their MUCH younger love interests in movies! Too bad female actors over 35 just go poof and disappear into thin air! Except for Helen Mirren of course.
If only Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep would disappear.
Load More Replies... Surprised Chitty Chitty Bang Bang wasn't referenced. Lionel Jeffries (The grandfather) was a year younger than Richard Van Dyke (The father)
Some of these cases are ridiculous, but some have valid reasons. To me, as long as one looks the part and plays it convincingly, who care what age they are.
Agreed - in some of these films, the age difference is ridiculous. In other films used in this list, they needed a young actor who can play a character at different points in their lives. Hence, young actor plays plays young character & old character (with makeup). You can easily make someone look much older. But much younger with the use of makeup is not so easily done.
Ilona, you really were lazy. So many of these you just phoned in. Try to put an effort into copy and pasting next time, Lazy Ilona.
It's hardly a new thing. Jessie Royce Landis played Cary Grant's mother in "North By Northwest" and his eventual mother-in-law in "To Catch A Thief" while being a little over 7 years older than him and claiming to be the same age.
It happens in live theater all the time, too. About 20 years ago, I got a stage role in a show, along with an actress for whom I'd lusted for several years. It sounded great, until I realized that I'd be playing her father. I was 44 playing about 60 thanks to makeup, she was 35 playing 27 (and very convincingly, IMO). I put my libido on hold for the duration, as pursuing her under those circumstances would have been very wrong. We're still friends, I'm happy to say.
On the TV show Vikings, actor Travis Fimmel (Ragnar Lothbrok) is only 12 years older than Alexander Ludwig, who played Ragnar’s eldest son, Bjorn. Katherine Winnick, who played Bjorn’s mother Largetha, is 15 years older than Ludwig. In addition, Jordan Patrick Smith, who played Ubbe, Ragnar’s second oldest son and Bjorn’s younger brother by 14 years, is also 3 years older than Ludwig.
I don't know, I just found this post kinda silly. They're actors. They can be aged with makeup and prosthetics. While the information about age differences is interesting, it's not like it's real life and therefore scandalous. It's just Hollywood.
Makeup, prosthetics, soft focus, and even CGI can go only so far.
Load More Replies... I recently re-watch As “Good as it Gets”. Helen Hunt was great, but they should’ve gotten an actress in her mid 40’s instead. 24-38 for teen and moms seem to be the standard in Hollywood and it looks ridiculous. I understand wanting actors/actresses to be over 18 years for legal reasons. But at least get 18-21 years olds to play teens. Most of them are in their late 20’s.
Exactly. Just hire actresses and actors in their 18-20 not in their late 20s
Load More Replies... 