# Largest age difference between actor's actual age and age of the character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741 "2008-08-20T23:39:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/21 "2008-08-21T01:15:17Z")
A 1979 British TV play _Blue Remembered Hills_ had a cast of well known and respected actors, aged between mid 30s to their 50s who played a bunch of 9 year old kids. > **["Play for Today" Blue Remembered Hills (TV Episode 1979) ⭐ 7.6 | Comedy, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078882/)** > > 1h 12m ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/22 "2008-08-21T01:17:40Z")
From what I’ve read, Brad Pitt’s upcoming movie _The Curious Case of Benjamin Button_ is about a man who ages backwards, starting from extreme old going back to early childhood. According to Entertainment Weekly, he will actually play the character in ALL stages of his life, no matter the age, using CGI effects. I think that, depending on the plot (and whether I’m right), this’ll be a VERY good answer to the OP’s question, even if it ends up being wrong. (I’m assuming the OP wants to also exclude characters who are immortal and ageless, or else the answer might well be Christopher Lambert and/or Adrian Paul. :D) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/23 "2008-08-21T01:20:35Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] No fair! Dick’s a member of the Howard families. (The stroke a few years back was faked on direct orders from W. W. Smith.) [/QUOTE] Born 1929…he’ll be 80 in Nov 09. Geez…considering his nickname is “World’s Oldest Teenager,” we might conclude he’s about 60 years older than the role. Winner? > **[Dick Clark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Clark)** > > Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929 – April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted American Bandstand from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid game show from 1973 to 1988 and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, which broadcast New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City's Times Square. > As host of American Bandstand, Clark introduced rock and roll to many Americans. The show gave many new music artists th... ---
**Author:** ![pentadent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee7513/32.png) [@pentadent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pentadent)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/24 "2008-08-21T01:22:44Z")
Keiko Agena was 28 in the first season of _Gilmore Girls_ playing a 14 year old. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/25 "2008-08-21T01:30:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Although Hamlet’s age is not given, he’s supposed to be a university student. Hamlet’s age is given, actually – in the gravedigger scene. He’s thirty, so a 41-year-old actor isn’t _that_ much of a stretch. (And really, how could someone with Hamlet’s personality NOT be a perpetual grad student? :D) And Mrs. Robinson became pregnant with Elaine when she was in college, so she’s probably only fortyish. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/26 "2008-08-21T01:39:39Z")
[QUOTE=pentadent] Keiko Agena was 28 in the first season of _Gilmore Girls_ playing a 14 year old. [/QUOTE] I don’t think it’s QUITE that bad. Lane, Keiko’s character, was probably 15 or 16; she and Rory in the same grade, and Rory turns 16 early in the season. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/27 "2008-08-21T02:07:41Z")
[QUOTE=Fretful Porpentine] Hamlet’s age is given, actually – in the gravedigger scene. He’s thirty, so a 41-year-old actor isn’t _that_ much of a stretch. (And really, how could someone with Hamlet’s personality NOT be a perpetual grad student? :D) [/QUOTE] More often, I’ve read commentators suggest that Hamlet’s age just isn’t consistent. You’re correct that he’s 30 after he returns, but he seems younger than that earlier. The ‘perpetual grad student’ angle always worked for me, but that may not be what was intended. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/28 "2008-08-21T02:42:12Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] More often, I’ve read commentators suggest that Hamlet’s age just isn’t consistent. You’re correct that he’s 30 after he returns, but he seems younger than that earlier. The ‘perpetual grad student’ angle always worked for me, but that may not be what was intended. [/QUOTE] I read an interesting [essay](http://www.princehamlet.com/chapter_1.html) last week that talked about how the gravedigger’s line was changed between early versions - initially the line indicated that the _gravedigger_ was 30, and it had been something like 12 years since Yorick died, not 23. In the novel **A Slipping-Down Life** by Anne Tyler, Evie Decker is 17. The character is not-very-believably played by 32-year-old Lili Tyler in the film. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/29 "2008-08-21T02:44:59Z")
In Karate Kid Part III, the evil pony-tailed villain Terry Silver is supposed to be a Vietnam War buddy of John Kreese, terrorizing the 17-year-old Daniel. In reality, Thomas Ian Griffith, who played Silver, was 26 - a year YOUNGER than Ralph Macchio. Possibly _the_ most absurd age disparity in the history of Hollywood, but the movie is so incredibly obscure that few are likely to know about it. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/30 "2008-08-21T02:48:38Z")
Martin Short/ **Clifford** , 35 years Elizabeth Taylor/Maggie Simpson, 60 years ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/31 "2008-08-21T02:50:50Z")
In 1993 a 45 year old Meryl Streep made a very unconvincing 16 year old Clara in The House of Spirits. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/32 "2008-08-21T03:07:09Z")
Bolo Yeung (Chong Li) was 50 years old when **Bloodsport** came out, how old do you expect Chong was supposed to be, 30 or so? That’s 20 years. When **Clifford** came out, Martin Short was 44 years old. He was playing a 10 year old. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/33 "2008-08-21T03:24:26Z")
Emma Thompson was 36 when _Sense & Sensibility_ was released, she played 19 year old Elinor. ---
**Author:** ![KRSOradio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/0ea827/32.png) [@KRSOradio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRSOradio)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/34 "2008-08-21T04:50:04Z")
Olivia Newton-John was 30 when she starred in _Grease_ (which could explain why the other actors were also old) Dick Van Dyke played the really old banker in _Mary Poppins_ (in addition to his role of Bert) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/35 "2008-08-21T04:55:46Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] 41 year old Cicely Tyson played a centennarian in _The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman_. [/QUOTE] That’s the one I came in to mention. While there were flashbacks, she was 110 for half of her screen time, so there was a 69 year age difference between her and her character. (And she was incredible— that water fountain scene, my God…- I hate the Jena 6 Tie-In of this video, but for those who’ve never seen it you have to [watch it on YT](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVv1VR8OTfg&feature=related) starting at :20 [though without context it’ll lose a lot] ). [QUOTE=Dangerosa] In 1993 a 45 year old Meryl Streep made a very unconvincing 16 year old Clara in The House of Spirits. [/QUOTE] She, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters, all of them 60 or close to, play women in their late 30s in MAMMA MIA. (Streep’s character has a 20 year old daughter born when she was about 18 or 19.) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/36 "2008-08-21T05:02:40Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] Isabel Sanford was twenty years older than Sherman Hemsley, so assuming that most married couples are expected to be around the same age (there are indications in the show that George was slightly older than Weezie), she was around twenty years older than the character she played on _The Jeffersons_. [/QUOTE] Wow! The same was true for **Good Times** , John Amos was 20 years younger than Esther Rolle! Although he was still great in the role (as always) Jimmy Stewart was _way_ too old to have played Charles Lindbergh in 1957. Lindbergh was 25 when he made his flight and Stewart was nearly 50 then (and looked it!) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/37 "2008-08-21T05:04:27Z")
Robert Wagner and Spencer Tracy played brothers in the movie _The Mountain_. No reference was made to them being half brothers or there being an age gap- presumably they were supposed to be close in age, in spite of Tracy being 30 years older than Wagner, so one of them was playing a character a lot of out of their age range. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/38 "2008-08-21T05:33:55Z")
In [Travels with my Aunt](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069404/) Maggie Smith is 38 years old. She plays a character whose age is unspecified but certainly over 60, probably closer to 70, and the same character when she’s a schoolgirl of perhaps 16 - they must have emptied the shops of vaseline for that sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/39 "2008-08-21T06:45:29Z")
I was going to say Marion Cotillard in Ma Vie En Rose, but I then I realized that she was about 34 and Edith Piaf was only 48 when she died…she looked way older. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/40 "2008-08-21T07:26:43Z")
Ali McGraw was 45 when she played Natalie Jastrow in “The Winds of War.” Natalie was in her early 20s [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741.md?page=3)