Actors Who Played Parent And Child With Hilariously Small Age Gaps
It's Hollywood's prerogative to take creative license. And hey, most of us will gladly turn a blind eye to letting professionals stretch the limits of what's believable. High schoolers with deep-set wrinkles, babies that miraculously age and look entirely different in the blink of a frame — we've seen it all. But casting two stars as parent and child whose ages are so far from what would be physically possible... There's a chance the movie makers have gone too far this time! From a mother whose son is years older than her in real life to the duo who were so similar in age that rumors of romance began to swirl, it's time to unwrap Hollywood's most unhinged on-screen parent and child pairings.
1. Cher & Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Parent actor's age at time of filming: 71
Child actor's age at time of filming: 68
Age difference: 3 years
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again arrived in cinemas in 2018, giving us another feel-good jukebox romp through Abba’s greatest hits. The movie was a major box office success, just like its predecessor. And yet there is one thing that really bugged us about it. That was when Cher played Ruby Sheridan, the mother of Meryl Streep’s Donna in the film. This seems daft considering she is only three years older in reality, and could at best be an older sister.
2. Brian Cox & Alan Ruck, Succession
Parent actor's age at time of filming: 72
Child actor's age at time of filming: 62
Age difference: 10 years
Succession is a darkly comic take on the travails of a family in control of a media empire that airs on HBO. Starring Brian Cox as Roy family patriarch Logan, there is an odd bit of casting that you might have missed. Indeed, Logan’s son Connor is played by Alan Ruck. But the age differential between Cox and Ruck is a mere ten years.
3. Estelle Getty & Bea Arthur, The Golden Girls
Parent actor's age at time of filming: 62
Child actor's age at time of filming: 63
Age difference: 1 year
Remember The Golden Girls? Featuring the aging female legends of Hollywood such as Betty White and Rue McClanahan, the laughs provided by the divorced women living together in Miami were aplenty. One oddity was that Estelle Getty played Bea Arthur’s mom Sophia. That’s because she was a year younger than her on-screen daughter in real life. Kudos to the makeup department, we guess.
4. Heath Ledger & Kate Mara, Brokeback Mountain
Parent actor's age at time of filming: 25
Child actor's age at time of filming: 21
Age difference: 4 years
The cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain wowed critics upon its 2005 release, winning numerous awards and plaudits. Michelle Williams, Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger were all praised for their performances. But the Ang Lee movie did have a curious element outside of its cowboy affair. That was how Kate Mara, who played the daughter of Heath Ledger’s Ennis Del Mar, was 21 at the time the film came out. That’s only four years younger than her on-screen dad!
