Amy Schumer's "Last F*ckable Day" gag is so true: Maggie Gyllenhaal told she was "too old" to play a 55-year-old actor's lover

The mathematical and mental gymnastics required for this one are truly astounding

Published May 21, 2015 4:30PM (EDT)

Maggie Gyllenhaal  (Joel Ryan/Associated Press)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Joel Ryan/Associated Press)

Today in Hollywood news that makes you want to scream into a vast abyss: 37-year-old Maggie Gyllenhaal revealed that she was turned down for a film role after being told she was ‘too old’ to play a 55-year-old man’s love interest.

“There are things that are really disappointing about being an actress in Hollywood that surprise me all the time,” she told 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.”

The entertainment industry's track record with female artists has been terrible lately, from leading actresses earning less than their male counterparts to the disappointing lack of female superheroes onscreen. Still, Gyllenhaal says she hasn’t lost faith. “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.”


By Anna Silman

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Films Hollywood Maggie Gyllenhaal Sexism