# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/41 "2009-09-20T04:36:32Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > 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. I’ve seen Siân Phillips in a few recent shows. She looked almost _exactly_ like the old Livia. It’s uncanny. ---
**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 20, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/42 "2009-09-20T06:22:48Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > 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 Yeah, and talcum powder in his hair made him look . . . like a 42-year-old with talcum powder in his hair. > [@astorian](#): > > 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. Genes don’t count: William Hickey was born looking 80. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/43 "2009-09-20T08:33:20Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **A League of Our Own** handled it very well – using older actresses to represent the stars in old age. I came in to mention this one. I too was wondering if it was makeup. My second guess was that they case the actresses’ actual mothers. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > they also had Geena Davis et all dub their lines. I was wondering if this was the case! > [@dropzone](#): > > 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. I have to say the best makeup job I’ve ever seen was in the new Star Trek movie which had to look good enough to seem real in IMAX. The latex was perfectly seamless - you could see the pores! And the eyebrows did not have the usually obvious mesh underneath it that fake hair usually does. I think if anyone could do aging well these people could. I’m having trouble thinking of a good example where the actual actor was aged with makeup and it was done well. But I know it has, because I remember seeing bad makeup jobs later on and thinking 'now that I know that it _can_ be done well, seeing it done poorly is more grating". Similar to the feeling I got after seeing badly done creature CGi after having seen really excellent creature CGI done cheaply. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/44 "2009-09-21T17:33:01Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I think they did a pretty good job with F. Murray Abraham in _Amadeus._ He played Salieri. That’s either irony or the understatement of the year. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/45 "2009-09-21T17:42:03Z")
I was impressed by the aging makeup in the HBO John Adams miniseries. Laura Linney as Abigail Adams was especially believable. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/46 "2009-09-22T10:24:29Z")
They did a really good job with [this guy](http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/c/c9/Wesley_27.jpg/180px-Wesley_27.jpg) back in the '80s. Compare with a [modern pic](http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/8/8a/Wesley_Crusher%2C_2379.jpg/180px-Wesley_Crusher%2C_2379.jpg)… But, seriously, the best I’ve seen is when they don’t go for the extremes. Just add a few wrinkles and recede the hairline. (They did it well in _Stargate SG-1_’s last episode.) The second they have to put on a white headed wig an have ultra saggy skin… ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466/47 "2009-09-22T15:02:24Z")
**Cold Case** alternates between make-up and using older/younger actors, but always does a pretty convincing job. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-ever-do-ageing-well-in-tv-movies/510466.md?page=2)