# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/81 "2008-08-26T20:20:02Z")
[QUOTE=Malthus] In the series _I, Claudius_, the actor playing Claudius (Derick Jacobi?) I believe played him as a teenager all the way through to being an old man. [/QUOTE] Keith Michell did an incredible “eat my shorts Jonathan Rhys Meyers” performance as Henry VIII in which (without CGI) he aged from a fit and trim (and horny) man of about 19 to a morbidly obese and prematurely old (and impotent) tyrant. He was in his mid or late 30s at the time. (I never saw the second season of The Tudors- did JRM start putting on weight?) ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/82 "2008-08-26T21:29:27Z")
[QUOTE=The Shroud] Actually, I think it was the other way around; Sherman Hemsley was 35 when he originated the role of George Jefferson, and I think he was supposed to be close to Archie Bunker’s age, which was around 50. [/QUOTE] That may be true re _All In The Family_, but the 20-year age difference between the actors Hemsley and Sanford is an established fact. My post was in regards to that age difference and the closeness in age between the husband and wife they played. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/83 "2008-08-26T21:35:37Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Wow, talk about robbing the… uh… frathouse. On _Deep Space Nine_, Jake (Cirroc Lofton) and Nog (Aron Eisenberg) were teenage contemporaries. In fact, Eisenberg is nine years older. I mention this only because there were a few episodes where the adolescent Jake and Nog exchanged dialog along the lines of “Girls sure are weird!” I can picture the director yelling “cut!” and Eisenberg sighing to himself “I’m too old for this crap.” [/QUOTE] Having met Eisenberg, that is almost EXACTLY what was going on with him during filming. He was in a really awkward spot, because he _was_ an adult, but was playing a kid, so most of the other cast members treated him like a kid anyway. I suppose that could have something to do with why he’s an asshole now, but that could just be his normal personality. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/84 "2008-08-26T21:43:16Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Keith Michell did an incredible “eat my shorts Jonathan Rhys Meyers” performance as Henry VIII in which (without CGI) he aged from a fit and trim (and horny) man of about 19 to a morbidly obese and prematurely old (and impotent) tyrant. He was in his mid or late 30s at the time. (I never saw the second season of The Tudors- did JRM start putting on weight?) [/QUOTE] JRM hasn’t put on much weight yet, but the second season finale showed him digging in to a whole swan- looks like they will start linking him with gluttony/emotional eating? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/85 "2008-08-27T04:19:07Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] That may be true re _All In The Family_, but the 20-year age difference between the actors Hemsley and Sanford is an established fact. My post was in regards to that age difference and the closeness in age between the husband and wife they played. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I guess my point was that Sanford was pretty close to her character’s age, Hemsley wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/86 "2008-08-29T06:49:38Z")
I only skimmed the thread and just realized it was _Isabel_ Sanford being discussed, so I’ll mention SANFORD & SON. Whitman Mayo was about 25 years younger than his character of Grady; actor was in his mid 40s and the character was around 70. (Foxx was about 15 years younger than the character of Fred.) Vicky Lawrence was in her early 20s when she first played Mama as a recurring character on _The Carol Burnett Show_, an age difference of around 50 years. She was in late 30s when she started the TV show and I think Mama was made a bit younger as well, so about a 30 year age difference. Anyone know how old Tyler Perry’s M’dea is supposed to be? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/87 "2008-09-02T17:41:07Z")
In the tv series M_A_S_H_, Jamie Farr played Klinger, who was supposed to be 18-20, when Farr himself actually served in Korea… he was in his late 40’s, so, a 30-year difference. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/88 "2014-03-12T00:31:09Z")
The film Excalibur is full of these “age differences.” Some examples: **Nigel Terry** who played the teenaged King Arthur was 36 at the time. **Gabriel Byrne** , who portrayed Arthur’s father Uther Pendragon was actually five years younger than Terry, **Helen Mirren** , who was portraying Morgana Le Fey, Arthur’s OLDER half sister was the same age as Nigel Terry ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/89 "2014-03-12T00:48:12Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > The film Excalibur is full of these “age differences.” > Some examples: > > **Nigel Terry** who played the teenaged King Arthur was 36 at the time. > **Gabriel Byrne** , who portrayed Arthur’s father Uther Pendragon was actually five years younger than Terry, > **Helen Mirren** , who was portraying Morgana Le Fey, Arthur’s OLDER half sister was the same age as Nigel Terry Boris Karloff was 45 when he played the title role in _The Mummy_ who was presumably thousands of years old. Makes me ponder: what’s the word for something that returns from the grave, hungering for the flesh of the living? It’s like “mummy”… Vampire? Ghoul? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/90 "2014-03-12T01:29:31Z")
As long as the dead are walking the Earth… In _Lincoln_, Sally Field (age 66) played Mary Todd Lincoln (age 47). ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/91 "2014-03-12T01:36:40Z")
In the Holy Week series, who played 950-year old Noah? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/92 "2014-03-12T12:24:19Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > In the Holy Week series, who played 950-year old Noah? Just because it’s a zombie thread, doesn’t mean you should ignore the rules! (True, not stated perfectly clearly in the OP – though implied strongly enough – but fully clarified in a post early in the thread.) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/93 "2014-03-12T12:43:30Z")
43 year old Josh Brolin played the 29 year old past version of Agent K in Men in Black 3. Well, he _stated_ he was 29. J observed that he had some road miles on him. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/94 "2014-03-12T14:34:19Z")
A lot of actors that have been cast as Richard III -Rathbone, Olivier, Price, McKellen, were older than he was (32 when killed at Bosworth). > **[Richard III of England | In culture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_of_England#In_culture)** > > Richard III is the protagonist of Richard III, one of William Shakespeare's history/tragedy plays. Apart from Shakespeare, he appears in many other works of literature. Two other plays of the Elizabethan era predated Shakespeare's work. The Latin-language drama Richardus Tertius (first known performance in 1580) by Thomas Legge is believed to be the first history play written in England. The anonymous play The True Tragedy of Richard III (c. 1590), performed in the same decade as Shakespeare's wo... Similarly Marcus Agrippa is usually cast as older than his contemporary Octavian, HBO Rome is an exception. In the late 1960s sitcom, Kaye Ballard and Roger C Carmel were only a few years older than "their son Jerry Fogel. Ballard was born in 1925, Carmel 1932 and Fogel 1936 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/95 "2014-03-12T15:17:42Z")
Mary Pickford practically made a career out of playing roles too young for her. At about age 28, she played the title role in _Pollyanna_ who I think was supposed to be 11. At about age 37 she played the title role in _Coquette_ who I think was supposed to be about 18. At 41, she even screen-tested for the role of Alice in a planned _Alice in Wonderland_ movie. Alice was seven years old in the book. That film was never made, which I think is a mercy. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/96 "2014-03-12T17:24:16Z")
Warren Beatty was 41 when he played a pro football quarterback in Heaven Can Wait, 44 when he played the 30-ish John Reed in Reds, 54 when he played Bugsy Siegel (who died at 41) Beatty was 53 when he made Dick Tracy. Tracy’s age is never given, but co-star Glenne Headly, who played Tracy’s girlfriend, was 18 years younger than Beatty. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/97 "2014-03-12T18:39:31Z")
Sally Thomsett played an 11 year old in The Railway Children when she was 20, Jenny Agutter, then 17 played her older sister. According to Wikipedia > [@](#): > > Her contract forbade her to reveal her true age during the making of the film, and she was not allowed to be seen smoking, drinking, driving her car, or in the company of her boyfriend during the shoot.[1][2] She did have experience of playing girls, and the Edwardian smocks disguised her bust. Even the film crew were unaware of her age, and they gave her sweets while treating Agutter as nearly an adult. [ ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/98 "2014-03-12T18:57:05Z")
Not the biggest, but Wet Hot American Summer had a bunch of 30 year olds playing teenagers. Now they’re planning on doing a prequel, 14ish years later, with the exact same cast. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/99 "2014-03-12T19:12:49Z")
> [@zagloba](#): > > Ali McGraw was 45 when she played Natalie Jastrow in “The Winds of War.” Natalie was in her early 20s EVERYBODY in that movie was way too old for his/her role. Jan-Michael Vincent kept getting cast as young, wet-behind-the-ears hotshots even when he was pushing 40. He was supposed tro be playing Ali’s much younger love! ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741/100 "2014-04-10T13:34:05Z")
I can’t remember which film, but I remember Roger Ebert taking Jackie Chan to task in a review for casting an actress as his mother who was 3 years younger than him, while Chan himself played a character in his early 20s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-age-difference-between-actors-actual-age-and-age-of-the-character/460741.md?page=6)