While it’s certainly naive to think that everything we see in the movies is real, some of the lies they pull off are really impressive. Like the actual age gaps between some of the actors who play parent and child. Take Heath Ledger and Kate Mara in Brokeback Mountain, for example. At the time of producing the movie, Ledger was 25 and Mara was 21. Yet their portrayal of Ennis and Alma Jr. was totally believable!
And this isn’t a one-time thing; it happens more than you’re probably aware of. But don’t worry, Bored Panda is here to open your eyes. We have compiled a list of on-screen relatives with ridiculous real-life age differences, so sit back, continue scrolling, and you’ll have a better understanding of Hollywood in no time.
Read More: 30 Age Gaps Between Actors Who Played Parent And Child That Make No Sense In Real Life
#1 Estelle Getty Was Actually Younger Than Bea Arthur When She Played Her Mom In Golden Girls
Image credits: NBC
#2 Angelina Jolie Was Colin Farrell’s Mom In Alexander, But In Reality They’re Only A Year Apart
Image credits: Warner Bros Pictures
#3 Sally Field Was Tom Hanks’s Mom In Forrest Gump. However, She’s Just 10 Years Older Than Him, And Even Played His Love Interest In Punchline A Few Years Earlier
Image credits: paramount
#4 When She Starred In This Is Us, Mandy Moore (36) Was Younger Than All Of The Actors Who Played Her Children
Image credits: ABC
#5 In Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Cher Played Meryl Streep’s Mom Even Though She Was Only Three Years Older Than Her Co-Star
Image credits: Universal Pictures
#6 In Mean Girls, Amy Poehler Is Only Seven Years Older Than Her Daughter, Rachel Mcadams
Image credits: Paramount Pictures
#7 The Actors Who Played Father And Son In “Blue Bloods”, Tom Selleck And Len Cariou, Have An Age Difference Of Just Six Years
Image credits: CBS
#8 Johnny Depp Is Five Years Older Than His Movie Mom In “Blow”, Rachel Griffiths
Image credits: New Line Cinema
#9 Father And Son In Supernatural, Jeffrey Dean Morgan And Jensen Ackles, Were Born Just 12 Years Apart
Image credits: warnerbros
#10 In Jane The Virgin, Andrea Navedo Is Only Seven Years Older Than Her Daughter, Gina Rodriguez
Image credits: The CW
#11 “Flicka’s” Main Character, Katy, Is Supposed To Be A Teenager. But The Actress, Alison Lohman, Was 27 At The Time, Making Her Just 13 Years Younger Than Her Movie Dad, Played By Tim Mcgraw
Image credits: Twentieth Century Fox
#12 In Brokeback Mountain, The Age Difference Between Heath Ledger And Kate Mara Playing Father And Daughter Was Just Four Years
Image credits: Focus Features
#13 Elizabeth Rodriguez And Dascha Polanco Played Mother And Daughter In Orange Is The New Black, But In Real Life There’s Less Than A Two-Year Age Gap Between Them
Image credits: Netflix
#14 In Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, The Age Difference Between Sean Connery And Harrison Ford Is 12 Years
Image credits: paramount
#15 Bryce Dallas Howard Played Taron Egerton’s Mom In Rocketman, But There’s Only An Eight-Year Difference Between Them
Image credits: Paramount Pictures
#16 Daughter And Mother: Janet Hubert And Karyn Parsons In The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
Image credits: warnerbros
#17 Winona Ryder Is Only Six Years Older Than Zachary Quinto, And She Played His Mother In The 2009 Star Trek
Image credits: Paramount Pictures
#18 Constance Marie Is Only Four Years Older Than Jennifer Lopez But She Played Her Mother In Selena
Image credits: Warner Bros Pictures
#19 In The 2019 Film “Glass,” Charlayne Woodard Plays The Mother Of Samuel L. Jackson’s Character, Elijah (Aka Mr. Glass). The Only Problem Is That, At 66, She’s Five Years Younger Than 71-Year-Old Jackson
Image credits: Universal Pictures
#20 Mother And Son: Julia Roberts & Ryan Reynolds In Fireflies In The Garden
Image credits: Senator Entertainment Inc.
#21 Father And Son: John Noble And Sean Bean In The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Image credits: warnerbros
#22 Cuba Gooding Jr. And Laurence Fishburne In ‘Boyz N The Hood’
Image credits: Summit Entertainment
#23 In Six Feet Under, Frances Conroy And Peter Krause Play Mother And Son, But They’re Only Separated By 12 Years
Image credits: HBO
#24 Mother And Son: Mary Steenburgen & Will Ferrell In Step Brothers
Image credits: Columbia-Pictures
#25 In “Footloose,” The Stodgy Town Reverend, Played By John Lithgow, Is Only 12 Years Older Than His Fictional Daughter, Played By Lori Singer
Image credits: Paramount Pictures
#26 In Prodigal Son, Bellamy Young (50) And Michael Sheen (51) Are Only 12 And 13 Years Older Than Tom Payne (38), Who Plays Their Son
Image credits: FOX
#27 Wesley Was Already 27 When He Was Cast As Stefan In “The Vampire Diaries.” Stefan’s Mother, Also A Vampire, Is Played By Annie Wersching, Who Is Only Six Years Older Than Wesley
Image credits: The CW
#28 Michael J. Fox And Lea Thompson Are The Same Age — Even Though Fox’s Character In “Back To The Future” Is Thompson’s Son. Her Older Look Was Achieved With Facial Prosthetics
Image credits: Universal Pictures
#29 Lorne Greene Was Only Seven Years Older Than Ava Gardner, Who Played His Daughter In This 1974 Disaster Film
Image credits: Universal Pictures
#30 In Blue Bloods, Len Cariou Plays Tom Selleck’s Father, Even Though There Is Only A Six-Year Difference In Age, With Cariou Being 81 And Selleck Being 75
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Image credits: CBS