In the newest example of how detached Hollywood can be from real life, Maggie Gyllenhaal has revealed at age 37 she was told she was too old to play a 55-year-old actor’s love interest.
She admitted she felt a range of different emotions upon this shocking news, but ultimately it plays into a bigger conversation about ageism in Hollywood.
“There are things that are really disappointing about being an actress in Hollywood that surprise me all the time,” she told TheWrap.
She went on about being told she was too old for the part, “It was astonishing to me. It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh."
She wouldn’t specify which film she was referring to, or which actor for that matter, but did continue to say conversations like this make her hopeful for women in the business going forward and she's already seen changes.
“A lot of actresses are doing incredible work right now, playing real women, complicated women,” she said. “I don’t feel despairing at all. And I’m more looking with hope for something fascinating.”
Back in February it was revealed the annual survey conducted by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego state found that just 12 percent of protagonists in films in the year 2014 were women. That’s a 3 percent drop from 2013 and a 4 percent drop from 2002.
image via INFphoto.com