Hollywood usually has the opposite problem: a suspiciously mature-looking 28-year-old walks into a high school and everyone agrees to pretend they are 16. Every once in a while, though, casting goes dramatically in the other direction. Actors in their 20s become middle-aged parents, people barely into their 40s suddenly qualify as elderly, and a convincing layer of prosthetics can add several decades before lunch. Some of these age gaps are hidden so well that audiences never think twice about them. Others become considerably stranger once you discover how young the performer actually was. Here are 15 actors who were way younger than their characters.©IMDbCarey Mulligan — The Dig (2021)Mulligan was around 34 during filming, while the real Edith Pretty was about 55 when the Sutton Hoo excavation began.©IMDbMax von Sydow — The Exorcist (1973)Von Sydow was only in his early 40s when makeup transformed him into the elderly Father Merrin, a character depicted as being well into his 80s.©IMDbAngelina Jolie — Alexander (2004)Jolie was 29 while playing Olympias, mother to Colin Farrell’s Alexander, despite Farrell being just about a year younger than her.©IMDbEstelle Getty — The Golden Girls (1985–1992)Getty was 62 when the series premiered, but Sophia Petrillo was already supposed to be around 80.©IMDbJennifer Lawrence — Joy (2015)Lawrence was only 24 during production, roughly a decade younger than Joy Mangano during the period when much of the story takes place.©IMDbTilda Swinton — The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)Swinton was in her early 50s when extensive prosthetics turned her into Madame D., an 84-year-old wealthy dowager.©IMDbMandy Moore — This Is Us (2016–2022)Moore started the series in her early 30s and eventually played Rebecca Pearson into her 70s, making her younger than the actors playing her adult children.©IMDbGuy Pearce — Prometheus (2012)Pearce was in his 40s when layers of prosthetics turned him into Peter Weyland, the ancient billionaire nearing the end of his life.©IMDbOrson Welles — Citizen Kane (1941)Welles was just 25 when production began, yet Charles Foster Kane ages from a young man into an elderly recluse over the course of the movie.©IMDbChristian Bale — Vice (2018)Bale was in his early 40s during production but played Dick Cheney across decades, including his much older years as vice president.©IMDbWinona Ryder — Star Trek (2009)Ryder was only 37 when she played Spock’s mother, while Zachary Quinto, her on-screen son, was already in his early 30s.©IMDbAnne Bancroft — The Graduate (1967)Mrs. Robinson tells Benjamin that she is twice his age, yet Bancroft was only 35 during filming, just six years older than Dustin Hoffman.©IMDbLaurence Fishburne — Boyz n the Hood (1991)Fishburne was only 29 during production when he convincingly stepped into the role of Furious Styles, father to Cuba Gooding Jr.’s teenage Tre.©IMDbSally Field — Forrest Gump (1994)Field was only in her 40s when she played Forrest’s mother across decades, including scenes where the character is considerably older than the actress herself.©IMDbBrad Pitt — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)Pitt was in his 40s when visual effects and makeup turned him into an elderly Benjamin, whose unusual life begins looking decades older than the actor playing him.The post 15 Actors Who Were Actually Way Younger Than Their Characters appeared first on Den of Geek.