For many years actors have been able to escape, or at least tried to when playing characters that originally were younger than themselves. Many examples can be found, but here are 10 examples of actors being too old for their respective parts.
Humphrey Bogart (The Caine Mutiny) - the character in the movie was supposed to be 28 years of age but Bogart was himself 53 at the time of the part.
Stockard Channing (Grease) - many in Grease were originally too old to be playing teenagers but Channing was 33 years of age when she was cast for the role as Rizzo.
Matt Damon (My life with Liberace) - Damon was supposed to play Liberace's lover Scott Thorson who at the time was 17 years of age while Damon when doing this role was 42.
Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man) - Peter Parker (Spider-Man) is supposed to be in highschool (usually between 14-17/18) but Garfield was at the time 28 in his first role as Spider-Man and 30 for the sequel.
Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer (Romeo and Juliet) - in the play Romeo and Juliet the age of Juliet was around 13 and although not really mentioned Romeo was around 16. Howard and Shearer were 43 and 34 when playing the roles as Romeo and Juliet.
Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) - when playing the role of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) Tobey Maguire was 26, 28 and 31. In the last one the famous superhero was supposed to be around his 20s, while Tobey was 31.
Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller's day off) - while many of the roles were supposed to be attending high school, Ruck was almost 30 when playing his role as Cameron Frye, Ferris's best friend in the movie.
Kevin Spacey (Beyond the Sea) - when Spacey produced, directed and starred in the leading role as singer Bobby Darin Spacey he was 45 while for the role he was supposed to be in his 20s.
Barbra Streisand (Yentl) - in this movie, that is about a woman dressing up as a man to be a student, Streisand plays a character that is supposed to be 17 when she was 40.
There are of course many more but these are just a few actors playing roles they originally were too old to play even though that did not even undermine their performances at all, don't you think?
