Actors Who Were Too Old/Too Young For Their Roles

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I just had a conversation about Greer Garson in Pride & Prejudice. Way too old.

Tom Cruise, in the alleged reboot of The Mummy. First, his charcter was supposed to be significantly younger than Dr. Jeykel, yet Cruise is 4 years older than Russel Crowe, and looks it. Second, Cruise is too blowsey and puffy to be playing action roles any longer.

My go-to answer to this question is William Holden in Picnic. He was 37 years old playing a much younger character - say mid-20s. But for me, it's not his actual age, it's that he looked every one of his 37 years. Kim Novak was 22, playing a character only slightly younger than herself.

I was just on the individual board for the 50's version of The Desperate Hours the other day. Many people, me included, feel that Gig Young was definitely too old for the part he played in that movie. He was in his early 40s when the movie was made. The actress who played his love interest was 24. The characters were both suppose to be in the 18- 24 year range. Gig Young was actually Gig Old!

Somewhat on point...

Back in the 60s, there was a great suspense movie called Seconds, directed by John Frankenheimer.

It was a bit like a Twilight Zone episode. A middle-aged man in his 50s undergoes a mid-life crisis. He contacts a secret organization that arrange for him to undergo medical procedures to give him a new, younger face, as well as set him up with a new identity and career.

They fake his death with the body of another man so that he can start a new life under his new identity. (Self/less anyone?)

The new, young version was played by Rock Hudson. The older version was played by veteran character actor John Randolph. (He played Clark Griswold's father in Christmas Vacation, as an example.)

When I re-watched this a few years ago, I was struck by how old John Randolph looked in his role as a 50-ish man. At the time, I was only slightly older and he seemed much older than me, more like mid-60s. This was based on his style of clothing, his weary demeanour, somewhat frail physique, thinning hair, etc.

But, when I look at IMDB, I learned that he was actually younger than me and playing his actual age!

John Randolph was never a particularly robust man -- more like the kindly newspaper-and-comfy-slippers fatherly type -- but I think it had more to do with the fact that older people today are much healthier and active than back in the sixties.

J Law in that film was the first one that came to mind. Nothing against her performance, which I thought was excellent, but she just did not seem old enough to have the life experience of the character she was playing.

50 year old Roberto Benigni playing a 12 year Pinocchio. PURE. GENIUS.