A misogynistic paradox in Hollywood exists where women past a certain age cannot play someone younger or their own age. At 28, Olivia Wilde was too old to play Leonardo DiCaprio’s wife in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Instead, the role was given to 22-year-old Margot Robbie (a cruel Jezebel article accused her of lying about her age). DiCaprio, who plays Jordan Belfort across an entire decade, was 37 during filming. Why was a man allowed to play someone younger, but a woman was not? 

As female actors mature into their 30s, some find it more difficult to secure roles, even ones meant for their age. Maggie Gyllenhaal relayed her experience to The Wrap: 

“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.”

Parts written for a 37-year-old are often taken by baby-faced young women such as Jennifer Lawrence, who in her early 20s was cast as a widow in “Silver Linings Playbook,” 40-year-old Christian Bale’s love interest in “American Hustle,” and a middle-aged entrepreneur in “Joy.” At the ripe age of 17, Scarlett Johansson played a college graduate in “Lost in Translation.” Casting younger actresses in these roles reinforces the idea that youth is a woman’s most valuable commodity.

Age becomes more complex when actors are expected to play teenagers. Ben Platt’s dreadful turn in “Dear Evan Hansen” proved that not every male actor in their 20s can realistically play a teenager. However, a blatant bias exists against women in particular. Unfortunately Elizabeth Banks became another victim of the toxic mentality.