Actors Who Were Way Too Young For Their TV/Movie Roles

Played Aida Turturro's father in the movie "Romance and Cigarettes." He's only 1 year older than she is.

This is for a role that almost was. He was cast as Saoirse Ronan's father in "The Lovely Bones" when he was 26 and Ronan was 13

Gosling had serious misgivings about the role and felt he was too young to play a man in his late 30's. Director Peter Jackson assured him otherwise. Gosling gained 20 pounds and grew a beard in an attempt to look older

A day or two before shooting began, he and Peter Jackson parted ways. Some say Jackson fired him; others say Gosling quit. In any event, Mark Wahlberg, then 36, was brought in as a last-minute replacement and played the role

Played Chevy Chase's father on the TV show "Community." He is 12 years YOUNGER than Chase

Played O.Z. Whitehead's father in the movie "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." He was 9 years YOUNGER than Whitehead

Played Johnny Depp's mother in the movie "Blow." She's 5 years YOUNGER than he is

Played Georg Stanford Brown's father in "Roots." He is 3 years YOUNGER than Brown

Played Adam Garcia's mother in the movie "Riding in Cars with Boys." She's 2 years YOUNGER than he is

Played Bea Arthur's mother on the TV sitcom "The Golden Girls." She was 1 year YOUNGER than Arthur

Played the mother of Charlton Heston's character Moses in the movie "The Ten Commandments." In the movie she was an adult who raised him from a newborn baby, but in real life she was only 6 months older than Heston

Played Colin Farrell's mother in the movie "Alexander." She's only 1 year older than Farrell

Played David Duchovny's mother on the TV series "The X Files." She's only 1 year older than he is

Played Angela Bassett's mother in the movie "What's Love Got To Do With It?" She's only 2 years older than Bassett

Played Anthony Anderson's mother on the TV show "Blackish." She's 13 years older than he is

Played Meryl Streep's mother in the movie "Mamma Mia! Here we go Again." She's only 3 years older than Streep

Played Laurence Harvey's mother in the movie "The Manchurian Candidate." She was 3 years older than Harvey

Played Al Pacino's mother in the movie "Scarface." She was only 4 years older than Pacino

Played Kate Mara's father in the movie "Brokeback Mountain." He was 4 years older than Mara

Played George Maharis' mother in the film "A Covenant With Death." She was only 4 years older than Maharis

Was also the first Mexican actress nominated for an Academy Award, for the movie "Broken Lance" in 1955

Played John Cairney's father in the film "The Devil-Ship Pirates." He was only 4 years older than Cairney

Played Tom Selleck's father on the TV show "Blue Bloods." He's only 5 years older than Selleck

Played Mama Corleone in the iconic movie "The Godfather." She was 5 years older than John Cazales and 10 years older than Al Pacino and James Caan, all of whom played her sons in the movie

Played Zachary Quinto's mother in the movie "Star Trek." She's 5 years older than he is

Was only 5-1/2 years older than Buddy Ebsen, who played her son-in-law on the classic TV sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies"

Her iconic role of Mrs Robinson in the movie "The Graduate," a middle-aged woman seducing a much younger man, is a classic. But in real life she was only 6 years older than Dustin Hoffman, hardly a big enough age difference to be a cougar

Also played Katherine Ross's mother in the film. She was only 8 years older than Ross

In "Aquaman" she played Patrick Wilson's mother. She's only 6 years older than he is

She also played Jason Momoa's mother in the film. She is 12 years older than he is

Played Gina Rodriguez's mother on the TV show "Jane the Virgin." She's 6 years older than Rodriguez

Played Cicely Tyson's father in the movie "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter." He was 6 years older than Tyson

Played Cuba Gooding's father in the movie "Boyz N the Hood." He's 6½ years older than Gooding

Played Anthony Anderson's father on "Blackish." He's only 9 years older than Anderson

Played Malin Akerman's mother in the movie "Watchman." She's 7 years older than Akerman

Played Cary Grant's mother in the classic Alfred Hitchcock movie "North by Northwest." She was 7 years older than Grant

Played Rachel McAdams' mother in the movie "Mean Girls." She's 7 years older than McAdams

Played Mel Gibson's mother in the movie "Hamlet." She's 9 years older than he is

Played Reese Witherspoon's mother in the movie "Wild." She's 9 years older than Witherspoon

Played Johnny Depp's father in the movie "Blow." He was only 9 years older than Depp

Played Michael Pitt's mother in the TV series "Boardwalk Empire." She's 9 years older than he is

Played Dustin Hoffman's father in the movie "The Graduate." He is only 10 years older than Hoffman

Played Tom Hanks' mother in the movie "Forrest Gump." She's 10 years older than he is

In fairness, though, she played his mother in the childhood scenes with a child actor, and they aged her when he grew to adulthood and the role was played by Tom Hanks. So the age difference is only quasi-inappropriate

However, in the movie Hanks and Robin Wright are supposed to be the same age, but in real life Wright is actually 10 years younger than he is

Played Vincent Gallo's mother in the cult movie "Buffalo 66." She is 10 years older than Gallo

Payed Justin Rain's mother in the TV series "Blackstone." She's 10 years older than Rains

She is only 10 years older than Sabrina Le Beauf, who played her oldest daughter on "The Cosby Show"

She and Bill Cosby, who played her husband, were supposed to be college sweethearts, but she's 11 years younger than Cosby

Played Eric Roberts' mother in his debut movie role "King of the Gypsies." She's only 10 years older than he is

Played Allison Janney's mother in "Tammy." She's only 13 years older than Janney

Played Melissa McCarthy's GRANDMOTHER in the same film. She's only 24 years older than McCarthy

Played Julia Sawalha's mother in the TV show "Absolutely Fabulous." She's 10 years older than Sawalha

Played Paul Newman's mother in the movie "Cool Hand Luke." She's 10 years older than Newman

Played the title role in the movie "The Godfather," in which he had three sons. He was only 11 years older than John Cazale, and 16 years older than James Caan and Al Pacino who played the three sons

The film covers a 10-year span in which Brando is supposed to be 54-64 years old. He was only 48

Played Gina Rodriguez's father on the TV show "Jane the Virgin." He's 11 years older than she is

Played Paul Dano's mother in the movie "Little Miss Sunshine." She's only 11 years older than he is

Played Eddie Redmayne's father in the movie "The Good Shepherd." He's 11 years older than Redmayne

Played Christopher Reid's father in the movie "House Party." He's 11 years older than Reid

Played Shailene Woodley's mother in the movie "White Bird in a Bizzard." She's 11 years older than Woodley

He was only 11 years older than Mike Evans, who played his son on the TV show "The Jeffersons"

He was 21 years younger than Isabel Sanford, who played his wife, even though they were supposed to be around the same age

Played Melissa McCarthy's mother in the movie "Tammy." She's 11 years older than McCarthy

Played the mother of Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale in the movie "The Fighter." She's only 11 years older than Wahlberg and 13 years older than Bale

Leo won an Oscar for her role. Also, Wahlberg plays the younger brother by several years, but in real life he is nearly 3 years older than Bale

Played Emma Dumont's mother on the TV series "Aquarius." She's 11 years older than Dumont

Played Sean Bean's father in the movie "The Return of the King." He's only 11 years older than Bean

Played Sondra Locke's mother in the movie "A Reflection of Fear." She was 11 years older than Locke

Played Harrison Ford's father in the movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." He was 12 years older than Ford

Played Sasha Alexander's mother on the TV show "Rizzoli and Isles." She's 12 years older than Alexander

Played Wesley French's father in the TV series "Cashing In." He's 12 years older than French

Played Justin Rain's father on the TV series "Blackstone." He's 14 years older than Rains

Played Daniel Day Lewis' mother in the movie "My Left Foot." She's 12 years older than Lewis

Played Jensen Ackles' father on the TV show "Supernatural." He's only 12 years older than Ackles

Played Michael Douglas' mother in the biopic about Liberace "Behind the Candelabra." She was only 12 years older than he

She wore very heavy make-up in the film, making her almost unrecognizable

Is only 13 years older than Seann William Scott, but played his mother in the movie "American Pie"

Played the father on the classic TV western "Bonanza." He was only 13 years older than Pernell Roberts and Dan Blocker, who played two of his sons

Played the father of Jussie Smollett and Trai Byers on the TV show "Empire." He is 13 years older than Smollett and 14 years older than Byers

Played Paul Rudd's father in the movie "I Love You Man." He's 14 years older than Rudd

Played Will Ferrell's mother in the movie "Step Brothers." She's 14 years older than he is

Played Kelsey Grammer's father on the TV show "Frasier." He was 15 years older than Grammer

Played Garrett Clayton's mother in the movie "King Cobra." She's 15 years older than he is

Played Jane Levy's father on the TV show "Suburgatory." He's only 15 years older than Levy

In the movie "Green Lantern" she and Ryan Reynolds were supposedly friends since childhood. But in real life she's 11 years younger than he is (They're married now, so guess it all worked out)

Played 57-year-old Harry Callahan in the movie "Dirty Harry." He was 41 at the time

He was given the role after older actors John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, and Robert Mitchum purportedly turned it down. Contemporary actors Paul Newman and Steve McQueen also turned it down

It is considered one of the best movies of all time, and has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Played Diane Keaton's GRANDMOTHER in the movie "The Good Mother." She was 27 years older than Keaton

Played Alan Bates' GRANDFATHER in the movie "The Entertainer." He was 28 years older than Bates

Played singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone, aged 62 to 70, in the movie "Nina." Saldana was only 38

Played the 74-year-old priest Father Merrin in the classic horror film "The Exorcist." He was only 44 at the time

In the movie "Mother!" she played Javier Bardem's wife. They are supposed to be close in age, but in real life she is 21 years younger than he is

In the movie "Silver Linings Playbook" she played a woman in her 30's. She was only 22 at the time