# Do they ever do ageing well in tv/movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466 "2009-09-17T18:07:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/21 "2009-09-17T21:30:22Z")
I know, I’ve seen it. More than once. It’s one of the better ones, but it still takes me right out of it. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/22 "2009-09-17T21:32:42Z")
I think they did a pretty good job with F. Murray Abraham in _Amadeus._ He played Salieri. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/23 "2009-09-17T21:36:06Z")
I think the makeup is the LEAST of it. Body language is far more important to creating the illusion of old age. To be convincing as an old person, you have to MOVE like an old person. Layers of latex or pancake makeup might be convincing… but if the actor underneath that makeup moves like a young man, the illusion is completely lost. That’s one of the things that completely ruined Billy Crystal’s performance in “Mr. Saturday Night.” You could never forget that the character was just Billy Crystal doing a schtick. On the other hand, David Paymer (who played Crystal’s meek, long-suffering brother) was FAR more believable as an old man largely because he moved like an old man. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/24 "2009-09-17T21:41:51Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **A League of Our Own** handled it very well – using older actresses to represent the stars in old age. They picked women who looked enough like the cast members that it worked well. (I remember seeing the first scene and thinking, “Is that Geena Davis? They did a great job with the makeup!”). Until you mentioned it, I always assumed that the older Dottie Hinson _was_ Geena Davis in makeup. But IMDB lists another actress as the older Dottie. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/25 "2009-09-17T21:47:30Z")
I love when they change the ages of the characters in “How I Met Your Mother”, even though it’s somewhat to comic effect. [Marshall and Lily as old folks](http://images.buddytv.com/articles/image/how-i-met-your-mother/old-marshall-lily.jpg) [Robin as a teen idol](http://www.daemonstv.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/97033_d1450.thumbnail.jpg) [Future Barney](http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/2500000/Future-Barney-how-i-met-your-mother-2590507-1280-720.jpg) [Old Ted](http://www.channelguidemagblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/himym_the-front-porch.jpg) [College Ted](http://have-you-met-ted.com/wp-content/uploads/ted-and-karen-in-college1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/26 "2009-09-17T21:56:35Z")
I thought they did a good job with David Bowie in _The Hunger_. [David Bowie old](http://images.whatrumors.com/images/thumb/b/b5/David-Bowie-Vampire.jpg/250px-David-Bowie-Vampire.jpg) [David Bowie even older](http://www.pennyblood.com/smith_hunger.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/27 "2009-09-17T23:41:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **A League of Our Own** handled it very well – using older actresses to represent the stars in old age. They picked women who looked enough like the cast members that it worked well. (I remember seeing the first scene and thinking, “Is that Geena Davis? They did a great job with the makeup!”). They didn’t just use actresses who looked like older versions of the stars; they also had Geena Davis et all dub their lines. So we hear their voices coming out of other actresses mouths. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/28 "2009-09-18T00:09:57Z")
In **The Forsyte Saga** , the main characters are portrayed from their early 20s into their 70s (IIRC), and Damien Lewis did a phenomenal job at playing an old man with minimal aging make-up. [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PYA11n_VHE#t=3m38s) is a great clip (but contains spoilers!) showing how well he did it. (Gina McKee in that same scene is supposed to be in her 60s, but doesn’t pass nearly as well.) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/29 "2009-09-18T00:14:30Z")
I thought _Synecdoche, New York_ did a fine job. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/30 "2009-09-18T02:07:48Z")
I always thought _The Shawshank Redemption_ did it pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/31 "2009-09-18T21:37:22Z")
[I always thought the did it good in Click.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389860/) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/32 "2009-09-19T18:32:25Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > No. Old age makeup ruins pretty much every movie that has attempted it. They should just quit. Yeah this is pretty much my opinion. I think they should cast older actors to play the older parts but I suppose that has its own set of problems. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/33 "2009-09-19T20:17:56Z")
Babylon 5 actually did a pretty good job aging John Sheridan 20 years for the final episode. Look at around the 40 second mark in this video clip: [Sleeping in Light](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aalemTjCpsQ) ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/34 "2009-09-19T21:41:45Z")
The BBC miniseries **I, Claudius** was made on a (very) modest budget. However the aging makeup was extraordinary. I started watching the series in the middle, when Augustus was already old. When I saw the beginning of the series I couldn’t believe how young Brian Blessed was at the time. Sian Phillips as the old Livia was also excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/35 "2009-09-19T22:19:32Z")
Most of the time the problem I see with makeup aging is that they go too far. Like an episode of Scrubs where JD was seeing his life at different points. They flashed a scene that was supposed to be him and Turk 20 years later. Instead of looking 40’s-ish they looked like they were in their 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/36 "2009-09-19T22:38:49Z")
Question: has anyone ever seen an old person in a movie or TV show, and then been surprised to learn that they weren’t actually old? Seriously. Ever? Me, not. There are some that are better than others, of course, but I have never–NEVER–seen old-age makeup that didn’t require, as its most necessary component, the willful collusion of the audience in agreeing to intentionally suspend disbelief. I’ve seen all of the examples above, and NONE of them seemed 100% natural, entirely convincing. They were all “just good enough” to keep the story going. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/37 "2009-09-19T22:53:25Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Question: has anyone ever seen an old person in a movie or TV show, and then been surprised to learn that they weren’t actually old? Seriously. Ever? I can’t guarantee I’ve never been fooled, but I don’t recall it ever happening. Some of the examples that look very good in still photos failed when seen in action because once you start adding latex, you’re basically building a mask that doesn’t move and stretch in quite the same way as human flesh (even of the older, less-elastic variety). Also, although actors are happy to let you temporarily _add_ to their faces, most will draw the line at allowing you to _subtract_ bits, so jowls and wattles are easier to depict than atrophied muscles and the absence of collagen. Add a skull cap covering up a full head of hair, and you end up with ersatz old people whose heads have swollen 10 or 20 percent beyond their original size. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/38 "2009-09-20T00:49:18Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Question: has anyone ever seen an old person in a movie or TV show, and then been surprised to learn that they weren’t actually old? Seriously. Ever? When I was a little kid, I was surprised to learn that Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy were all the old people in Coming to America. Then again, I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/39 "2009-09-20T02:17:26Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > No. Old age makeup ruins pretty much every movie that has attempted it. They should just quit. This. Latex is stiff. Old skin is amazingly floppy and flexible; far more than young skin. It’s like that alien autopsy. It was obviously fake because it did not sag onto the table. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/40 "2009-09-20T02:43:08Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Question: has anyone ever seen an old person in a movie or TV show, and then been surprised to learn that they weren’t actually old? Seriously. Ever? > > Me, not. There are some that are better than others, of course, but I have never–NEVER–seen old-age makeup that didn’t require, as its most necessary component, the willful collusion of the audience in agreeing to intentionally suspend disbelief. I’ve seen all of the examples above, and NONE of them seemed 100% natural, entirely convincing. They were all “just good enough” to keep the story going. Well, Whitman Mayo, who played Fred’s pal Grady on “Sanford and Son,” wasn’t really that old. He was only about 42 when “Sanford” was at the height of its popularity And William Hickey, who played a lot of decrepit old men, wasn’t really that old either. He was only 57 when he made “Prizzi’s Honor,” for instance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466.md?page=3)