# What celebrity surprised you when you first learned of their true age? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 18, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449 "2014-04-18T22:31:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/81 "2014-04-24T14:29:11Z")
Two from “Our Gang:” [Chubby](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Chaney) and [Breezy](https://www.google.com/search?q=kendall+mccomas&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=xB1ZU9bkE9O1sASw-oCYBw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1016&bih=757) Most of the Gang were put out to pasture in their early teens, but these two _started_ with the Gang when they were 15. Both of them were really short, and Chubby had some unknown medical ailment which ultimately took his life at 21. Here’s [a photo](http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm119/badger60/chubby/?action=view¤t=chubby.jpg) of some “Gang” members. In the background are Mickey Daniels (born October 11, 1914), Mary Kornman (\*December 27, 1915). I don’t know the young lady in the center, but the one on the left is Mary Ann Jackson (January 14, 1923). Chubby is obviously bottom right, and in this photo (dated 1930), is only one week younger than Daniels , one year older than Kornman, and eight years older than Jackson to his left. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/82 "2014-04-24T17:50:45Z")
One I just found out about. In the movie _Zack and Miri Make a Porno_, Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks play two friends who end up falling in love. Their characters are supposed to be the same age (they attend their high school tenth anniversary reunion together). But Banks is actually eight years older than Rogan. That’s unusual because usually you see an older actor paired with a younger actress. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/83 "2014-04-24T23:48:59Z")
Indeed, it’s usually more like in _The Graduate_, the classic example where the actress who played Mrs. Robinson was about the same age as Dustin Hoffman. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/84 "2014-04-25T01:58:33Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Indeed, it’s usually more like in _The Graduate_, the classic example where the actress who played Mrs. Robinson was about the same age as Dustin Hoffman. Not quite the same thing but also interesting (I think), in 1988 Sally Field played Tom Hanks’ love interest in Punchline and only 6 years later she played his mother in Forrest Gump. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/85 "2014-04-25T02:15:40Z")
I remember watching _Larry Crowne_ - which to its credit had a scene where Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw is 28 but her character was younger) said that she liked Larry but he was way too old for her to be dating him (Hanks was 55 at the time). But the movie didn’t seem to think that Julia Robert’s character was too young to end up with Larry even though Roberts was 43. (And Talia ended up with Dell, who was played by the 31 year old Wilmer Valderrama). ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/86 "2014-04-25T02:42:09Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Not quite the same thing but also interesting (I think), in 1988 Sally Field played Tom Hanks’ love interest in Punchline and only 6 years later she played his mother in Forrest Gump. Whoa, that’s messed up. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/87 "2014-04-25T03:16:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I remember watching _Larry Crowne_ - which to its credit had a scene where Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw is 28 but her character was younger) said that she liked Larry but he was way too old for her to be dating him (Hanks was 55 at the time). But the movie didn’t seem to think that Julia Robert’s character was too young to end up with Larry even though Roberts was 43. Was Larry Crowne (Hanks’ character) also supposed to be 55 or was he a bit younger? If it was the latter, the age difference would obviously be lot less. (Also, as I get older, I don’t think 12 years is that big a deal either.) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/88 "2014-04-25T08:48:40Z")
Tom Hanks is about eleven years older than Julia Roberts, not twelve years. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/89 "2014-04-25T12:44:01Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Not quite the same thing but also interesting (I think), in 1988 Sally Field played Tom Hanks’ love interest in Punchline and only 6 years later she played his mother in Forrest Gump. Not really. For most of her scenes in the movie, she played the mother of “Young Forrest,” who was 9. She was 48. If anything, she was too old for her part. IIRC, Field and Hanks don’t have many scenes together. And even among those that they do, Hanks is supposed to be playing a 20 year old kid and Field is supposed to be her actual age. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/90 "2014-04-25T17:51:04Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > (Also, as I get older, I don’t think 12 years is that big a deal either.) I am glad to see someone say that, as I am 14 1/2 years older than my wife. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/91 "2014-04-25T17:57:37Z")
I think [Michael J. Fox](http://www.thehopeforamerica.com/press/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/back-to-the-future-michael_j_fox-47-49-age-fail-prediction-Marty-Mcfly-.jpg) pulled it off best. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/92 "2014-04-25T18:24:16Z")
Ha, love that “futuristic” double tie! ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/93 "2014-04-27T02:57:40Z")
In “The Walking Dead” Emily Kinney plays Beth who seems to be 17 or 18 years old. Kinney is 28 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/94 "2014-04-27T16:45:59Z")
[Jim Leavelle](http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-Police-Honor-Detective-Cuffed-to-Oswald-207367931.html), the man handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald. I figured he was probably in his 60s. He was 42 at the time. Still kickin’ today in his 90s. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/95 "2014-04-27T18:58:31Z")
Whoa, now that I look at it again I can see him being my age but like you, I always thought he was a lot older. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/96 "2014-06-14T13:34:02Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > SlackerInc writes: > > \> That’s so weird about Wilford Brimley. What must all those other actors in Cocoon, > \> who were well into their seventies, have thought about their not-yet-50 costar? > > I decided to look all these ages and the release date up. > > _Cocoon_ was released on June 21, 1985. > Wilford Brimley was born on September 27, 1934 and so was 50. > Don Ameche was born on May 31, 1908 and so was 77. > Hume Cronyn was born on July 18, 1911 and so was 73. > Jack Gifford was born on July 25, 1908 and so was 76. > Jessica Tandy was born on June 7, 1909 and so was 76. > Gwen Verdon was born on January 13, 1925 and so was 60. > Maureen Stapledon was born on June 21, 1925 and so was 60. > Herta Ware was born on June 19, 1917 and so 68. > > And so he was 50 and some of the others were only in their sixties. I suspect that the reason that Brimley looked fifteen years older than his real age at the time of that movie is that he was heavily tanned from his early careers as a ranch hand, wrangler, blacksmith, and stunt man (and tanning really does make you look older), from the fact that he was heavy-set in comparison to his co-stars (since anyone who spends most of their life as a Hollywood actor knows that you have to stay in good physical shape to get good roles), and the fact that he went bald and gray early (and anyone in Hollywood knows that you get a wig and dye your hair if you want good roles). In some sense, Brimley looked more like an average person of his age in 1985, not like an actor who’d pushed himself all his life to continue to look young. I have a hard time considering any scenario in which Wilford Brimley can be called ‘the kid’! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/97 "2014-06-14T13:41:06Z")
I thought that Mary Louise Parker, when I first saw her in “RED” was in her mid-20s, and I was wondering what she was doing hanging around w/Bruce Willis. Turns out, she’s close to 50 now (and, I think she looked closer to 50 in RED 2.) In “Jeepers Creepers”, the babe, Darry’s sister, was something like 30 IRL. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/98 "2014-06-14T13:53:39Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Whoa, that’s messed up. Brendan Fraser played a character in Mummy I and II, that character’s son in Mummy III. There were rumors at the time of the last one that Rachel Weisz refused to play the same character in all three (that is, to play Fraser’s love interest twice and then his mother, in the same movie series). The mother’s character is inded played by another actress, Maria Bello (who is a whole year and a half older than Fraser). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/99 "2014-06-14T13:56:25Z")
I was watching an interview with Teller (the short and silent half of Penn & Teller) the other day, and he admitted proudly that he was 65. This was right after the Vermeer movie came out last winter. Wow! I would have placed him somewhere in his early to mid-40s! ---
**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:** [June 14, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449/100 "2014-06-14T14:18:04Z")
Melora Walters, who played Wanda on _Big Love_ is 54 and was about 47 when the show premiered. She looks 15 years younger than that. She’s about 9 years older than he actor who played her husband (Shawn Doyle as Joey), but looks younger than he does. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrity-surprised-you-when-you-first-learned-of-their-true-age/686449.md?page=6)