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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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#1
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.
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#2
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.
#3
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
#4
When She Starred In This Is Us, Mandy Moore (36) Was Younger Than All Of The Actors Who Played Her Children
#5
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
#6
In Mean Girls, Amy Poehler Is Only Seven Years Older Than Her Daughter, Rachel Mcadams
Sarcastic Panda 3 years ago (edited)
maybe its because in the film she'd had loads of plastic surgery?
#7
The Actors Who Played Father And Son In "Blue Bloods", Tom Selleck And Len Cariou, Have An Age Difference Of Just Six Years
#8
Johnny Depp Is Five Years Older Than His Movie Mom In "Blow", Rachel Griffiths
#9
Father And Son In Supernatural, Jeffrey Dean Morgan And Jensen Ackles, Were Born Just 12 Years Apart
#10
In Jane The Virgin, Andrea Navedo Is Only Seven Years Older Than Her Daughter, Gina Rodriguez
Biljana Malesevic 3 years ago
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?
#11
"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
#12
In Brokeback Mountain, The Age Difference Between Heath Ledger And Kate Mara Playing Father And Daughter Was Just Four Years
#13
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
Biljana Malesevic 3 years ago
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.
#14
In Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, The Age Difference Between Sean Connery And Harrison Ford Is 12 Years
#15
Bryce Dallas Howard Played Taron Egerton's Mom In Rocketman, But There's Only An Eight-Year Difference Between Them
#16
Daughter And Mother: Janet Hubert And Karyn Parsons In The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
King Joffrey 3 years ago
Yes but the thing with Janet Hubert is that she doesn't look much older now that she's 65.
#17
Winona Ryder Is Only Six Years Older Than Zachary Quinto, And She Played His Mother In The 2009 Star Trek
Saint Thomas 3 years ago
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.
#18
Constance Marie Is Only Four Years Older Than Jennifer Lopez But She Played Her Mother In Selena
#19
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
#20
Mother And Son: Julia Roberts & Ryan Reynolds In Fireflies In The Garden
#21
Father And Son: John Noble And Sean Bean In The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Eliška Hůlková 3 years ago
Orlando Bloom is actually older than Lee Pace, who played his father in The Hobbit. That should have been on this list!
#22
Cuba Gooding Jr. And Laurence Fishburne In 'Boyz N The Hood'
Samantha Lomb 3 years ago
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.
#23
In Six Feet Under, Frances Conroy And Peter Krause Play Mother And Son, But They’re Only Separated By 12 Years
#24
Mother And Son: Mary Steenburgen & Will Ferrell In Step Brothers
#25
In "Footloose," The Stodgy Town Reverend, Played By John Lithgow, Is Only 12 Years Older Than His Fictional Daughter, Played By Lori Singer
#26
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
#27
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
#28
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
#29
Lorne Greene Was Only Seven Years Older Than Ava Gardner, Who Played His Daughter In This 1974 Disaster Film
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What do you think ?
Scratch 3 years ago (edited)
Portraying something they're not?! pffft It's almost like they're actors or something.
Dynein 3 years ago
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...
Ozacoter 3 years ago
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... EQXL 3 years ago
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.
Ray Lebowski 3 years ago
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... Scratch 3 years ago (edited)
Portraying something they're not?! pffft It's almost like they're actors or something.
Dynein 3 years ago
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...
Ozacoter 3 years ago
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... EQXL 3 years ago
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.
Ray Lebowski 3 years ago
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.
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