Buzz
In a notable scene from the 2007 film *Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story*, 42-year-old John C. Reilly, playing Dewey Cox, announces, “I reckon it’s time for Dewey Cox to move on.” His mother responds, “But y-you’re only 14.” Later, 34-year-old Kristen Wiig, portraying Edith, inquires if she can accompany him. Dewey replies, “Of course you can, Edith. You’re my girlfriend.” Edith excitedly exclaims, “Did you hear that? I’m Dewey’s 12-year-old girlfriend!”
As Homer Simpson famously quipped, “It’s funny ’cause it’s true.” Filmmakers often cast actors who are old enough to have teenage children in roles that require them to play much younger characters. Here are ten prime examples:
10. Leslie Caron, 26 years old, played the 15-year-old Gigi in the 1958 film *Gigi*.
“Thank heaven for little girls,” croons 70-year-old Maurice Chevalier as Honoré, a line that feels unsettling today. While *Gigi* charms with its beautiful melodies and elegant costumes, the story reveals a darker theme: the young protagonist is groomed to become a courtesan, defined by Merriam-Webster as “a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele.” Audrey Hepburn, aged 22, portrayed Gigi in the 1951 Broadway adaptation.
9. Emma Thompson, 36, portrayed the 19-year-old Elinor Dashwood in the 1995 film *Sense and Sensibility*.
Another example: Greer Garson, 35, played the 20-year-old Elizabeth Bennet in the 1940 adaptation of *Pride and Prejudice*.
Jane Austen’s sharp-witted heroines don’t speak like modern-day ingenues, which is why filmmakers often cast older actresses to deliver their sophisticated dialogue. One critique of Garson’s casting might be her striking beauty; Darcy initially describes Elizabeth as “not pretty enough,” a description that hardly fits the stunning Garson. Emma Thompson, who penned the *Sense and Sensibility* screenplay, was 16 years older than Kate Winslet, who played the 17-year-old Marianne Dashwood.
8. Barbra Streisand, 41, played the 17-year-old Yentl in the 1983 film *Yentl*.
Another example: Whoopi Goldberg, 29, portrayed the 14-year-old Celie in the 1985 movie *The Color Purple*.
Which was more of a stretch? Streisand’s character disguising herself as a boy to study the Talmud, or Streisand herself pretending to be a teenager? A character in the 1997 film *In & Out* remarks, “She was too old for Yentl!” While Goldberg’s portrayal of a 14-year-old in *The Color Purple* might seem challenging to believe, her character had endured severe trauma, including being raped by her stepfather and bearing two children, experiences that could age a person beyond their years.
7. Stockard Channing, 33, played the 17-year-old Betty Rizzo in the 1978 musical *Grease*.
The students of Rydell High were surprisingly mature for their age. Olivia Newton-John, who played Sandy, was 30, while Didi Conn (Frenchie) and Jeff Conaway (Kenickie) were both 27. John Travolta, portraying Danny Zuko, was the youngest at 24. Rosie O’Donnell, at 32, took on the role of Rizzo in a 1994 Broadway revival of *Grease*.
6. Audrey Hepburn, 32, played the 18-year-old Holly Golightly in the 1961 classic *Breakfast at Tiffany’s*.
Another example: Audrey Hepburn, 35, portrayed Eliza Doolittle, aged 18 or 20, in the 1964 film *My Fair Lady*.
The slender and youthful Audrey Hepburn often portrayed naive characters, such as Natasha Rostov in the 1956 film *War and Peace*. In Tolstoy’s novel, Natasha is just 13 when she first appears. Truman Capote, the author of *Breakfast at Tiffany’s*, reportedly envisioned Marilyn Monroe, then 35, as Holly Golightly. Wendy Hiller, aged 25, took on the role of Eliza Doolittle in the 1938 adaptation of *Pygmalion*, a character described by George Bernard Shaw as “perhaps eighteen, perhaps twenty.”
5. Maria Falconetti, 35, played the 19-year-old Joan of Arc in the 1928 silent film *The Passion of Joan of Arc*.
Another example: Ingrid Bergman, 33, portrayed the 17-year-old Joan of Arc in the 1948 film *Joan of Arc*.
The poster for *The Passion of Joan of Arc* hailed Falconetti as “The World’s Most Outstanding Screen Artist,” a title she’d need to convincingly play a teenager. However, the film’s focus on Joan’s trial, torture, and execution might have aged her appearance. Bergman initially portrayed the young liberator of Orleans in the Hollywood version. At 39, she revisited the role in her then-husband Roberto Rossellini’s *Giovanna d’Arco al rogo*.
4. Julie Harris, 26, played the 12-year-old Frankie Addams in the 1952 film *A Member of the Wedding*.
While many actresses in their twenties are cast as teenagers, Harris took on the role of a pre-teen tomboy in this adaptation of Carson McCullers’ 160-page novella. She starred alongside 10-year-old Brandon De Wilde, known for *Shane*, who portrayed the 6-year-old John Henry. For authenticity, the adult actors should have been at least seventy years old.
3. Leslie Howard, 43, played the 15 or 16-year-old Romeo.
Another example: Norma Shearer, 35, played the 13-year-old Juliet in the 1936 film *Romeo and Juliet*.
In Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy, Juliet is described as “not yet fourteen,” meaning Shearer could have been the mother of her character at 22 and of Romeo at 19 or 20. When married to the producer, Irving Thalberg, it seems you can land any role you desire. Howard’s tendency to play younger characters continued when, at 46, he portrayed the 28-year-old Ashley Wilkes in *Gone With the Wind*.
2. Dolores Cassinelli, 35, played the 11-year-old Pocahontas in the 1923 silent film *Jamestown*.
The fictionalized romance in the 1995 film *Pocahontas* feels unsettling when you consider the real Pocahontas was only around 11 when she allegedly saved John Smith’s life. Following Cassinelli’s silent-era portrayal, actresses playing Pocahontas became slightly younger: Jody Lawrance was 23 in the 1953 film *Captain John Smith and Pocahontas*, Gloria Talbot was 24 in the 1955 TV movie *America’s First Great Lady*, and Sandrine Holt was 22 in the 1995 film *Pocahontas: The Legend*.
1. John Mills, 38, played the 20-year-old Pip in the 1946 adaptation of *Great Expectations*.
What’s more startling in cinema? The creature erupting from John Hurt’s chest in *Alien*, or the abrupt transformation of Tony Wager’s youthful Pip into John Mills’ older version midway through *Great Expectations*? At 38, Mills portrayed a 20-year-old, though he looked closer to 45. Alec Guinness, 32, played Pip’s friend Herbert Pocket and appeared youthful enough to be mistaken for Mills’ son.
