In an industry rife with ageism and misogyny, there have been some seriously incredulous instances of actresses playing moms despite being way too young to do so. In some movies and TV shows, women have starred as moms of other actors who are close to their age or, in some cases, even younger than them!
We don’t know why, but Hollywood seems to have a mental block when properly casting mothers. At first glance, many seem fine — until you see the actor’s ages. You’d think there would be a sizable difference between the actors, but some are as little as 10 months apart.
In 2023, the internet was flabbergasted to see Emmy Rossum cast as Tom Holland’s mother, despite only being ten years older than him. We were left with one question: “Why does Hollywood not know how to cast moms?” From Orange is the New Black to Alexander, there’s a lot more miscasting than you think.
Check out these actresses who were way too young to be cast in these mother roles below.
A version of this article was originally published on Feb 2022.
Olivia Wilde in ‘In Time’
Despite being three years younger than Justin Timberlake, Olivia Wilde was cast to play his mom in 2011’s InTime.
However, the casting directors didn’t totally lose it because this casting kind of makes sense in the context of this movie. In Time follows a world where time means everything, and everyone has a clock on their arm that counts down how long they have left to live. You can transfer time, steal time, etc; an everyone, no matter if you were really in your 80s, look like they’re in their 20s.
Elizabeth Rodriguez in ‘Orange is the New Black’
Elizabeth Rodriguez’s character, Aleida, is a young mom on Orange is the New Black but, when filming began in 2013, Rodriguez was 33 while her onscreen daughter, Dascha Polanco, was 30.
Rodriguez, well aware of the small age gap, has noted that their real relationship is drastically different than how they appeared onscreen.
“Well, she’s a mother in real life, and I’m not. I’d say we’re more just like friends, not like a mother and daughter. I try not to be too pushy off-screen, because of the way Aleida is on Orange,” Rodriguez told Cosmopolitan in 2015.
Rebecca Feguson in ‘Dune’
Rebecca Feguson is just a little over 12 years older than Timothée Chalamet, who plays her son in the Dune series.
Michelle Williams in ‘Brokeback Mountain’
Michelle Williams was just 25 years old when her role as Alma Beers Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain premiered in 2005. Kate Mara, who played her teen daughter, was 22 at the time.
Laura Dern in ‘Wild’
Before playing peers in Big Little Lies, Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern starred as mother and daughter in 2014 movie Wild. Dern was then 47 playing Witherspoon’s mom despite only having a 9-year age gap.
Allison Janney in ‘Tammy’
Allison Janney is only 10 years older than Melissa McCarthy but still got cast to play her mom in 2014 comedy, Tammy.
Susan Sarandon in ‘Tammy’
To make matters worse, Susan Sarandon was also in the same movie playing Janney’s mom and McCarthy’s grandmother. Sarandon is just 14 years older than Janney and 24 years older than McCarthy.
Carla Gugino in ‘Spy Kids’
So, in Spy Kids, Carla Gugino played the mom to two kids, who were aged 11 and 9. Now, that age isn’t out of the ordinary, but when you realize more of the storyline, there’s a plot hole; and Gugino even talked about that to Buzzfeed in April.
“It is so funny because I was 27. It was a really beautiful kind of double-edged sword because I love that movie so much. And the whole experience was incredible, and the movies continue,” she said. “I love Ingrid Cortes. But it was funny because I was 10 years, at least, too young for the role because I was a spy for 10 years and then somehow had children who were like 9 and 11. So it was physically totally impossible.”
Melissa Joan Hart in ‘Would You Kill for Me?’
Melissa Joan Hart’s role in Would You Kill for Me made headlines in 2023 due to the fact that she was playing a grandmother at age 47.
Now, this isn’t out of the realm of possibility, but it still shocked fans nonetheless.
“I couldn’t be more flattered that people don’t think of me as a grandmother (no matter how possible it is at the age of 47),” the actor told HuffPost at the time. “I’m proud of my performance in the film and it’s fun to see it go viral.”
Brianne Howey in ‘Ginny & Georgia’
Did you know there’s only around a nine-year age difference between actresses Brianne Howey and Antonia Gentry, who play mother and daughter on the show Ginny and Georgia?! While Georgia is a young mom in the show, this is a little crazy!
Elizabeth Debicki in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3’
Okay, so we understand the MCU is based on the comics and that biology isn’t a major factor in the plot but, still, Elizabeth Debicki’s character is the mom of Will Poulter’s in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. In real life, they only have a two year age-difference between them.
Emmy Rossum in ‘The Crowded Room’
Twitter exploded when word came out that Emmy Rossum would be playing Tom Holland’s mom in the 2023 mini-series The Crowded Room despite her only being 10 years older than him.
However, it’s noted that she’ll be in flashbacks from Holland’s early childhood in the show, but it doesn’t make it much less odd.
Amy Poehler in ‘Mean Girls’
Get ready y’all because Amy Poehler was only seven years older than her on-screen daughter played by Rachael McAdams in Mean Girls.
Angelina Jolie in ‘Alexander’
Colin Farrell was 28 years old when his 2004 movie, Alexander, debuted and Angelina Jolie, who played his mother, was only 11 months older than him.
Charlayne Woodard in ‘Glass’
In the 2019 hit film Glass, Charlayne Woodard played Samuel L. Jackson‘s mother despite being five years younger than him.
Nicole Kidman in ‘Aquaman’
Nicole Kidman was cast as Jason Momoa’s mother in Aquaman despite only being 12 years older than him — the same age difference as Momoa and his then-wife Lisa Bonet.
In a 2018 interview with Variety, Kidman responded to the criticism saying, “In the context of the superhero world, it all evens out. Atlanna doesn’t really age.”
Sally Field in ‘Forrest Gump’
When Sally Field played Tom Hanks’ mama in Forrest Gump, she was only 10 years older than him. And, to make things more awkward, they previously played lovers in the 1988 film Punchline, six years before.
Drew Barrymore in ‘Riding in Cars With Boys’
In Riding in Cars With Boys, Drew Barrymore played Adam Garcia’s mom despite the fact that she was two years younger than him.
Estelle Getty in ‘Golden Girls’
Estelle Getty, who played Bea Arthur’s mom in Golden Girls, was literally one year younger than Arthur. Apparently, a lot of time was spent on making Getty look much older than in her 60s.
Angela Lansbury in ‘The Manchurian Candidate’
Angela Lansbury was only two years older than Laurence Harvey when she played his mom in The Manchurian Candidate.
Jessie Royce Landis in ‘North By Northwest’
Jessie Royce Landis was literally less than a year older than Cary Grant when she played his mom in North by Northwest, only 10 months to be exact.
Ginnifer Goodwin in ‘Once Upon a Time’
Once Upon a Time had a time warp so Jennifer Morrison and Ginner Goodwin were supposed to be around the same age. But that doesn’t make it any less weird when Morrison would call Goodwin, who was one year older than her, “mom.”
Winona Ryder in ‘Star Trek’
In the 2009 Star Trek film, Winona Ryder was cast as Zachary Quinto’s mother, despite only being five years older.
Toni Collette in ‘Little Miss Sunshine’
We all loved Little Miss Sunshine, but we often forget the fact that Toni Collette was only 11 years older than her on-screen son, Paul Dano.
Jennifer Coolidge in ‘American Pie’
Jennifer Coolidge is only 12 years older than Seann William Scott, who played her son in the American Pie movies.
Kelly Rowan in ‘The O.C.’
Okay, remember when Kelly Rowan played Benjamin McKenzie’s mother in The O.C? Well, Rowan and McKenzie are only 12 years apart in age.
Cristin Milioti in ‘How I Met Your Mother’
Timelines are all jumbled in How I Met Your Mother, but did you know the Mother, played by Cristin Milioti, and the actress who played the daughter Penny, played by Lyndsey Fonesca, are only two years apart from each other in real life? That’s right, Milioti is only two years older.
We know they filmed Fonesca’s scenes years prior to Milioti, but that’s just a lot to take in.
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