In Hollywood Actors Are Allowed To Age But Actresses Aren’t

October 18, 2017 in Daily Bulletin

Nate Jones wrote about ageing in Hollywood.

  • Both Star Wars Rogue One, and Blade Runner 2049 end with an iconic female sci-fi lead (Leia and Rachael respectively) making a cameo appearance as digitally re-created versions of their younger selves.
  • Male stars are often de-aged too. Think of Johnny Depp in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. But when they are, their older selves typically play a major role in the movie.
  • Moreover male actors play their own young selves and have wrinkles removed through CGI. In the case of Leia and Rachael, younger actresses played the role and had digital faces of the original actresses grafted onto them.
  • Leia did return for The Force Awakens – but she had a pretty small role compared to Harrison Ford who is still allowed to be the handsome action star well into his seventies.
  • Hollywood seems more comfortable freezing its female leads in amber and reviving them as needed, rather than creating decent roles for older women.

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