Unrealistic Hollywood Age Gaps

Hollywood is the land of make believe – we understand that, we like suspending disbelief. It feels good. But sometimes we’re convinced that the denizens of Tinseltown have a shaky grasp on reality.

Only in La-La Land does a mother being only nine years older than her son pass without comment. You think we’re kidding? Get a load of these film and TV age discrepancies…

Click on each image to find out more.

(Images: All Star, Rex Features)

Angelina Jolie & Colin Farrell

Film:Alexander

Year: 2004

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Jolie - 29; Farrell - 28

Anne Bancroft & Katharine Ross

Film: The Graduate

Year: 1967

Relationship: Mother and daughter

Age at film's release: Bancroft- 36; Ross- 27

Gretchen Mol & Michael Pitt

TV show:Boardwalk Empire

Year: 2010

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Mol - 37; Pitt - 29

Mary Steenburgen & Will Ferrell

Film:Step Brothers

Year: 2008

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Steenburgen - 55; Farrell - 41

Sean Connery & Harrison Ford

Film:Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade

Year: 1989

Relationship: Father and son

Age at film's release: Connery- 58; Ford- 46

Heath Ledger & Kate Mara

Film:Brokeback Mountain

Year: 2005

Relationship: Father and daughter

Age at film's release: Ledger - 26; Mara - 22

Jessie Royce Landis & Cary Grant

Film:North By Northwest

Year: 1959

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Royce Landis - 62; Grant - 55

Eileen Herlie & Laurence Olivier

Film:Hamlet

Year: 1948

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Herlie - 30; Olivier - 40

(We realise this obviously ridiculous discrepancy is to highlight the Oedipal themes inherent in the Bard's tale, but even so)

Amy Poehler & Rachel McAdams

Film:Mean Girls

Year: 2004

Relationship: Mother and daughter

Age at film's release: Poehler - 32; McAdams - 25

Angela Lansbury & Laurence Harvey

Film:The Manchurian Candidate

Year: 1962

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Lansbury - 37; Harvey - 34

Ernest Borgnine & Kirk Douglas

Film:The Vikings

Year: 1958

Relationship: Father and son

Age at film's release: Borgnine - 41; Douglas - 41

Marlon Brando & John Cazale

Film:The Godfather

Year: 1972

Relationship: Father and son

Age at film's release: Brando - 47; Cazale - 36

Sally Field & Tom Hanks

Film:Forrest Gump

Year: 1994

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Field - 47; Hanks - 37

Maria Bello & Ashton Holmes

Film:A History Of Violence

Year: 2005

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Bello - 38; Holmes - 27

Laurence Fishburne & Cuba Gooding Jr.

Film:Boyz n the Hood

Year: 1991

Relationship: Father and son

Age at film's release: Fishburne - 30; Gooding Jr. - 23

Drew Barrymore & Adam Garcia

Film:Riding In Cars With Boys

Year: 2001

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Barrymore - 26; Garcia - 28

Sean Connery & Dustin Hoffman

Film:Family Business

Year: 1990

Relationship: Father and son

Age at film's release: Connery - 59; Hoffman- 52

Jennifer Coolidge & Seann William Scott

Film:American Pie

Year: 1999

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Coolidge - 37; Scott - 22

Melissa Leo & Mark Wahlberg

Film:The Fighter

Year: 2010

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Leo - 50; Wahlberg - 39

Julia Roberts & Ryan Reynolds

Film:Fireflies In The Garden

Year: 2008

Relationship: Mother and son

Age at film's release: Roberts - 40; Reynolds - 31