Hollywood is the land of make believe – we understand that, we like suspending disbelief. It feels good. But sometimes we’re convinced that the denizens of Tinseltown have a shaky grasp on reality.
Only in La-La Land does a mother being only nine years older than her son pass without comment. You think we’re kidding? Get a load of these film and TV age discrepancies…
Click on each image to find out more.
(Images: All Star, Rex Features)
Angelina Jolie & Colin Farrell
Film:Alexander
Year: 2004
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Jolie - 29; Farrell - 28
Anne Bancroft & Katharine Ross
Film: The Graduate
Year: 1967
Relationship: Mother and daughter
Age at film's release: Bancroft- 36; Ross- 27
Gretchen Mol & Michael Pitt
TV show:Boardwalk Empire
Year: 2010
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Mol - 37; Pitt - 29
Mary Steenburgen & Will Ferrell
Film:Step Brothers
Year: 2008
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Steenburgen - 55; Farrell - 41
Sean Connery & Harrison Ford
Film:Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
Year: 1989
Relationship: Father and son
Age at film's release: Connery- 58; Ford- 46
Heath Ledger & Kate Mara
Film:Brokeback Mountain
Year: 2005
Relationship: Father and daughter
Age at film's release: Ledger - 26; Mara - 22
Jessie Royce Landis & Cary Grant
Film:North By Northwest
Year: 1959
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Royce Landis - 62; Grant - 55
Eileen Herlie & Laurence Olivier
Film:Hamlet
Year: 1948
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Herlie - 30; Olivier - 40
(We realise this obviously ridiculous discrepancy is to highlight the Oedipal themes inherent in the Bard's tale, but even so)
Amy Poehler & Rachel McAdams
Film:Mean Girls
Year: 2004
Relationship: Mother and daughter
Age at film's release: Poehler - 32; McAdams - 25
Angela Lansbury & Laurence Harvey
Film:The Manchurian Candidate
Year: 1962
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Lansbury - 37; Harvey - 34
Ernest Borgnine & Kirk Douglas
Film:The Vikings
Year: 1958
Relationship: Father and son
Age at film's release: Borgnine - 41; Douglas - 41
Marlon Brando & John Cazale
Film:The Godfather
Year: 1972
Relationship: Father and son
Age at film's release: Brando - 47; Cazale - 36
Sally Field & Tom Hanks
Film:Forrest Gump
Year: 1994
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Field - 47; Hanks - 37
Maria Bello & Ashton Holmes
Film:A History Of Violence
Year: 2005
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Bello - 38; Holmes - 27
Laurence Fishburne & Cuba Gooding Jr.
Film:Boyz n the Hood
Year: 1991
Relationship: Father and son
Age at film's release: Fishburne - 30; Gooding Jr. - 23
Drew Barrymore & Adam Garcia
Film:Riding In Cars With Boys
Year: 2001
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Barrymore - 26; Garcia - 28
Sean Connery & Dustin Hoffman
Film:Family Business
Year: 1990
Relationship: Father and son
Age at film's release: Connery - 59; Hoffman- 52
Jennifer Coolidge & Seann William Scott
Film:American Pie
Year: 1999
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Coolidge - 37; Scott - 22
Melissa Leo & Mark Wahlberg
Film:The Fighter
Year: 2010
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Leo - 50; Wahlberg - 39
Julia Roberts & Ryan Reynolds
Film:Fireflies In The Garden
Year: 2008
Relationship: Mother and son
Age at film's release: Roberts - 40; Reynolds - 31
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