Lying in Hollywood is nothing new, and sometimes in order to land the part of their dreams,
actors have to massage their birthdays a little to fall into the right age bracket. Let's
look at actors who lied about their age to get roles in movies or TV shows.
Although she appeared in many movies and TV shows beforehand, Mila Kunis had to lie about
her age in order to score the role of Jackie Burkhart on the iconic sitcom "That '70s Show."
While on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in 2012, the talk show host asked her how
old she was when she was cast in "That '70s Show." Kunis responded,
"Legally, I was 14. I mean, I told them that I was a little bit older."
"Let's go back. Like 14 and a half?"
"Sure."
Turns out that Kunis' definition of "a little bit" is pretty broad. Kunis explained that
she was in ninth grade at the time, but she told the "That 70s Show" team that she, quote,
"was going to be 18," which she doesn't consider a lie since she was one day going to be 18,
although not nearly as soon as she implied.
Eventually, the producers on "That 70s Show" discovered Kunis' true age, but the truth
didn't stop her from being able to hold onto the role of Jackie. If the people behind "That
'70s Show" found out sooner about Kunis' real age, then she may not have gone on to score
bigger roles such as Meg in "Family Guy" and in "Black Swan." One could argue that Kunis
convincing adults that she was 18 when she was only 14 was simply further evidence of
her acting talent.
"Apocalypse Now" is often considered one of the greatest movies of all time, so it's no
wonder why Laurence Fishburne lied about his age to score the supporting role of 18-year-old
Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller in the 1979 film. In 2013, Fishburne explained on "George Stroumboulopoulos
Tonight" how he fudged his age in order to get the part.
"I told them that I was 16 when I had my interview."
"You were 14."
"I was 14."
Fishburne went on to say that he thought director and co-writer Francis Ford Coppola saw through
his lies but ultimately cast him after asking a woman in the office if she believed Fishburne
was 18. She confirmed that he could pass for 18, and that appeared to seal the deal. However,
filming took so long that Fishburne was 17 by the time the movie was finally finished.
This white lie not only advanced Fishburne's acting career, but also gave him the opportunity
to save someone's life. "Apocalypse Now" lead Martin Sheen told “Access Hollywood” in
2012 that, when writing the autobiography "Along the Way" with his son Emilio Estevez,
he was stunned to learn that Fishburne saved Estevez from drowning on set. Sheen said,
"We didn't have a clue that that had happened. I wanna call Laurence and thank him […] I
would have gone up and hugged and kissed him and thanked him [on the set] but I didn't
have a clue."
As a 29-year-old, Gabrielle Carteris lied about her age in order to play 16-year-old
Andrea Zuckerman on the classic teen drama "Beverly Hills, 90210." Her last appearance
on the original series was in 2000, yet Carteris didn't publicly discuss this lie until 2011
when she told “Access Hollywood,”
"They didn't know, I lied. I actually talked to a lawyer about how could I sign these contracts
and lie about my age and still be able to do the show. 'Is it OK?' And, 'Yes it is,
as long as you just say you're over 21.'"
Unfortunately, Carteris could not hide the truth forever. While the show was still airing,
a magazine that she would not name started asking questions about Carteris' age. When
the actress refused to comment on her age, this magazine found it illegally through the
DMV. Carteris was sure that the revelation was going to cost her the job, but by that
time, it seemed that the show had been on the air long enough to keep her safe.
After she left "Beverly Hills, 90210" as a regular cast member in 1995, Carteris amassed
many performances in film, television, and video games. She would also become the second
National President of the combined Screen Actors' Guild and American Federation of Television
and Radio Artists in 2016.
Although she appeared on several TV shows beforehand, Carla Gugino made her motion picture
debut in the 1989 cult classic "Troop Beverly Hills." But to snag that career-changing role,
she had to lie about her age.
Over 30 years later, Gugino spoke with celebrity cook Rachael Ray about how she got the part
of Chica Barnfell.
"I was 16, but I lied and said I was 14 to get the job."
“Good for you!”
She went on to confess that she waited until the film was pretty far along in the filming
process to come clean to the director, who confirmed that he never would've hired her
if he'd known her true age. Ironically, this response seemed to confirm that Gugino did
the right thing in lying, since if she'd been honest about her age, she'd never have gotten
the part.
The 1982 stoner comedy "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" marked the earliest film appearance
for prolific actor and Oscar winner Nicolas Cage. But if he hadn't lied about his age,
he may never have gotten the part.
Although the movie revolves around high school students, its casting directors looked for
18-year-olds due to the occasionally explicit nature of the film's subject matter. The 17-year-old
Cage falsely claimed he was 18 when he auditioned for the lead role of Brad, a part that ultimately
went to Judge Reinhold. Cage was still cast in the film as "Brad's Bud," but the role
was much less significant.
The entire experience left a bad taste in Cage's mouth, who said he must have auditioned
for Reinhold's part 10 or 11 times, only to miss out because he was too young. Additionally,
Cage said that his experience on the film was poor, since not many were keen on the
idea of the nephew of an acclaimed director – Francis Ford Coppola, in this case – being
an actor. That negative experience led to the actor deciding to change his surname from
"Coppola" to "Cage."
Despite his minuscule role in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," Cage would continue to
star in many more films such as "Raising Arizona," "Moonstruck," and "Face/Off." He would also
win a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in 1995 romantic drama "Leaving Las Vegas."
While Rachel McAdams has played many young people throughout her career, her age has
been a bit of a mystery for much of that time. That was by design; McAdams is said to play
fast and loose with her age, adjusting it up or down by a couple years, depending on
what sort of part she's up for.
In May of 2007, IMDb listed McAdams' age as 30, but “Elle” magazine wrote about McAdams
for its April cover of that year, claiming,
"IMDb states (her age) is 30, but is really, truly, ask her mother, 28."
When the entertainment magazine “Radar” went digging to uncover the truth about the
discrepancy, the actress' rep told the publication that she was indeed 28. However, a source
involved with one of her films at the time said that it was an open secret among producers
that McAdams would shave a few years off her age in interviews, only to add them back in
when a role called for a more mature actress. Perhaps this is how she wound up playing a
teenager in "Mean Girls" when she was – at least, as best as we can tell – 26 years
old.
Whoopi Goldberg had to lie about her age long before she would become one of the few performers
to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. The renaissance woman told “The Washington
Post” in 1986 that her California drivers license stated her true age of 30, instead
of the widely publicized age of 35 that she used to get jobs. That same article talked
about her then-recent experience living below the poverty line, which makes it understandable
that she was willing to do whatever it took to land acting roles.
Ironically, Goldberg would go on to play an ageless character named Guinan in the television
series "Star Trek: The Next Generation." This humanoid bartender was born sometime before
the late 19th century, but her exact age was never specified, adding to her mysterious
nature. Knowing how Goldberg got her start in Hollywood, she must have enjoyed playing
a character who didn't have a specific age.
Jessica Chastain has starred in a number of high-profile films throughout her career,
yet she will not reveal her actual age to the public. As Chastain explained to “The
Independent” in 2013,
"I will never say my age because I'm an actress, and I want to play different ages."
Chastain's stance makes sense, since Hollywood has a long history of ageism when it comes
to female actors. Later, in 2014, Chastain spoke out about this issue at the 2014 National
Board of Review Awards Gala. Responding to Russell Crowe's claim that older women want
to play younger roles, Chastain pushed back,
"I think Russell keeps getting his foot stuck in his mouth. There are some incredible actresses
in their 50s and 60s that are not getting opportunities in films, and for someone to
say there are plenty of roles for women that age [...] [that] is not someone who's going
to the movie theater."
While Chastain isn't likely to act alongside Crowe in the near future, she makes a compelling
case for why lying about her age – or refusing to talk about it all – might be a pretty
smart career move.
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