Kate Mara was 21 when 25-year-old Heath Ledger played her dad in Brokeback Mountain.
It was recently announced that Tom Holland (25) was cast in a new TV series, where Emmy Rossum, who’s only 10 years older than him, will be playing his mom.
The series, The Crowded Room, will be an anthology series about people who have successfully learned to live with their mental illnesses.
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And since Tom Holland is 25 and Emmy Rossum is only 35, many people feel that their age gap is too small to play parent and child.
Rede Globo / Twitter: @BlameEmily
However, writer Carina Adly Mackenzie clarified that most of Emmy’s scenes will be flashbacks to when Tom’s character was around 4 years old.
Guys — Emmy Rossum is playing Tom Holland’s mom because the vast majority of her scenes are flashbacks to his character’s very early childhood when he endured the trauma that caused his Dissociative Identity Disorder. It started before he was 5 years old.
Okay, carry on.
Twitter: @cadlymack
Still, since this casting has started a conversation around age differences in movies and film, I figured I’d compile a list of other TV shows and movies that have strangely small age gaps between actors who played parent and child.
1.
Kate Mara was 25 during the filming of Brokeback Mountain.
Heath Ledger was 25 during filming.
In the movie, they played father and daughter.
2.
David Duchovny from The X-Files was born in 1960.
Rebecca Toolan was born in 1959.
In The X-Files she plays his mom, even though they are only one year apart.
3.
Adam Garcia was 28 when Riding in Cars with Boys came out.
Drew Barrymore was 26 when the film came out.
So Adam Garcia was two years older than Drew Barrymore when he played her son in the film.
4.
Elizabeth Rodriguez was born in 1980.
Dascha Polanco was born in 1982.
In Orange Is the New Black, Elizabeth Rodriguez played Dascha Polanco’s mother even though they have a two-year age gap.
Netflix
Elizabeth is older than Dascha by exactly one year, 11 months, and six days.
5.
Gina Rodirguez was 29 when Jane the Virgin started filming.
Andrea Navedo was 36 when it started filming.
In Jane the Virgin, Andrea Navedo and Gina Rodriguez played mother and daughter.
The CW
“Granted, Xiomara (Andrea Navedo) was a teen mom, so I think they’re only supposed to be 16–17 years apart, but still.”
6.
Taron Egerton was 28 when Rocketman, started filming.
Bryce Dallas Howard was 37 during filming.
They played mother and son in the film.
7.
Rachel McAdams was 26 years old during the filming of Mean Girls.
Amy Poehler was 33 during the filming of the movie.
In the movie, Rachel McAdams plays Regina and Amy Poehler plays Regina’s mom.
8.
Tom Selleck is currently 77 years old.
Len Cariou is currently 82 years old.
In Blue Bloods, Len Cariou plays Tom Selleck’s father.
9.
Colin Farrell was 28 in Alexander.
Angelina Jolie was 29 in the film.
She played his mother in the movie.
Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection
10.
Orlando Bloom was 35 during filming of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Lee Pace was 33 years old during the filming of the movie.
Even though Lee Pace is two years younger than Orlando Bloom, Lee played Orlando’s father in the movie.
11.
Zachary Quinto was 30 when the 2009 Star Trek movie started filming.
Winona Ryder was 36 when the movie started filming.
In the movie she played his mother.
12.
George Lopez was 41 at the start of The George Lopez Show.
Belita Moreno was 52 at the start of the series.
Belita played George’s mother on the show.
13.
Monique was born in 1978.
Countess Vaughn was born in 1967.
For five years, Countess Vaughn played Monique’s daughter on The Parkers.
14.
Meryl Streep was 69 in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Cher was 72 during filming.
In the movie, Cher played Meryl Streep’s mom.
15.
Janet Hubert was born in 1956.
Karyn Parsons was born in 1966.
In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Janet Hubert and Karyn Parsons played mother and daughter despite having a 10-year age gap.
16.
Tom Hanks was 37 during the filming of Forrest Gump.
Sally Field was 47 during filming of the movie.
Sally Field played Tom Hanks’s mom in the movie.
17.
Essence Atkins was 25 when the first season of Smart Guy aired.
John Marshall was 35 during the first season.
They played father and daughter on the show.
The WB
“Essence was born Feb. 7, 1972, while John was born July 5, 1962.”
18.
Harrison Ford was 46 during the filming of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Sean Connery was 58 during filming of the movie.
Sean played Harrison’s father despite only being12 years older than him.
19.
Jennifer Lopez was 27 years old when she starred in Selena.
Constance Marie was 31 years old when she was in the movie.
They played mother and daughter in the movie with only a four-year age difference.
20.
Mandy Moore is currently 37 years old.
Sterling K. Brown is currently 45 years old.
Justin Hartley is also currently 45 years old.
Christina Metz is 41 years old.
In This Is Us, Mandy Moore plays Sterling, Justin, and Christina’s mother despite being younger than all of them
21.
Bellamy Young was 50 in the first season of Prodigal Son.
Michael Sheen was 51 during the first season.
Tom Payne was 38 during the first season.
In the show, Bellamy Young and Michael Sheen play Tom Payne’s parents.
22.
Peter Krause was born in 1965.
Frances Conroy was born in 1953.
In Six Feet Under, Frances Conroy and Peter Krause play mother and son, even though they’re only separated by 12 years.
23.
And lastly, Estelle Getty was 62 when Golden Girls started.
Bea Arthur was 63 when the show started.
Despite Estelle Getty being younger than Bea Arthur, Estelle played Bea’s mother on the show.
What age gap between actors who played parent and child shocked you? Let us know in the comments!