Classify this under things that are NOT like a fine wine. Getting older in Hollywood as a woman is “not fun,” Liv Tyler said in an interview for the October issues of More magazine.
The Leftovers actress, who turned 38 this past July, explained that her age has placed her in a new bracket for Hollywood roles.
Thirty-eight "is a crazy number,” she told the magazine. “It’s not fun when you see things start to change. When you’re in your teens or 20s, there is an abundance of ingenue parts which are exciting to play. But at [my age], you’re usually the wife or the girlfriend — a sort of second-class citizen. There are more interesting roles for women when they get a bit older.”
The mother of two (she gave birth to her second child, a baby boy, in February) had one of her first parts in 1995’s Empire Records in her late teens. Since then, she has appeared in movies including That Thing You Do!, Armageddon, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Incredible Hulk.
Tyler is one of a growing number of actresses who are voicing their concerns and indignation over the industry’s slow move to change ageist and sexist standards.
In the October issue of Glamour UK, former teen star Anne Hathaway similarly pointed out how Hollywood continues to cast aside its older stars.
“I can’t complain about it because I benefitted from it,” the 32-year-old actress said of losing out on parts to younger actresses. “When I was in my early twenties, parts would be written for women in their fifties and I would get them. And now I’m in my early thirties and I’m like, ‘Why did that 24-year-old get that part?’”
Other actresses who have been vocal about the gap include Emma Thompson, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Emmy 2015 host Andy Samberg even acknowledged the problem during his opening monologue at the awards show with a tongue-in-cheek jab at the industry.
“The wage gap between men and women hired in Hollywood is still an issue,” he deadpanned. “Wait, sorry, I misread that. The age gap between men and women hired in Hollywood is still an issue. Wait, I’m sorry, I misread again. It’s both, still both.”
