She may be an Oscar nominated actress, but apparently there's no way she could convincingly play a 55-year-old's girlfriend. That's what 37-year-old Maggie Gyllenhaal was recently told by a casting director. The Crazy Heart star revealed in an interview with The Wrap Magazine that she was denied a role opposite a man almost 20 years her senior because she was 'too old'.In fairness, Maggie Gylenhaal looks like she's going on 50 herself. I tend to suspect that this is less about sexism in Hollywood and more about how cutting her hair off makes a woman look like a frumpy, middle-aged housefrau.
'There are things that are really disappointing about being an actress in Hollywood that surprise me all the time,' she said 'I'm 37 and I was told recently I was too old to play the lover of a man who was 55. It was astonishing to me. It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh.'
To put it in context, According to this unnamed casting director, Maggie would not be a believable love interest of Val Kilmer, Kevin Spacey, Hugh Laurie, James Spader, Judd Nelson, Rupert Everett, Hugo Weaving or Jason Alexander - all of whom are 55 years old.
Let's face it, if you look at the actors listed, the only one whose girlfriend she could convincingly portray is Jason Alexander's, given that this is James Spader's actual girlfriend.
