10+ Hollywood Stars Who Aged Better Than the Older Characters They Played

In filmmaking, the makeup department works its magic by transforming actors into the characters we see on screen, look wise. Sometimes they need to give actors a senior appearance and, as skilled as they are, they don’t always predict accurately how the actor will actually look in the future. We found a few examples of that and the stars themselves ended up aging a lot better than their on-screen roles.

1. Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man

For this film, the actor had to age 88 years to impersonate Jack Crabb, a 121-year-old man. Fortunately, this was made possible thanks to the makeup of the talented Dick Smith. Today, the actor is in his 80s.

2. Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future II

When the actor was 28 years old, he returned for the second installment of the iconic sci-fi saga Back to the Future. In this film, Michael’s character, Marty McFly, travels back to the future and meets his 2015, 47-year-old self.

3. Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Despite how wonderfully preserved and handsome he is, the actor is already in his sixties. In the film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, you can see a journey through the life of a character that ages backward. By the end of the movie, he’s a baby. In the image on the left, we can see how Pitt was aged in the movie to represent approximately the age he is today.

4. Mel Gibson in Forever Young

In this film, Mel Gibson, who was in his 30s, played an aging version of pilot Daniel McCormick. Today, Mel looks amazing in his 60s.

5. Lea Thompson in Back to the Future II

At only 23 years old, she was characterized to look 40 during her interpretation of the futuristic version of the mother of the protagonist of Back to the Future II. Giving her that look involved makeup sessions lasting more than 3 hours. Today, the actress is well into her sixties and looks considerably better than she did, even in a younger version, 3 decades ago.

6. Melanie Griffith in Shining Through

At 33, the actress played Linda Voss, who in the present time of the film is an old woman telling her story for a documentary. Although Melanie is not exactly that old nowadays, we can see how time has treated her well now that she’s in her 60s.

7. Eddie Murphy in Coming to America

When the movie, Coming to America, was released, a thirty-something Eddie Murphy surprised us by playing multiple roles with different traits and ages. One of them was a barber who, although we don’t know his exact age, looked quite old. However, we can say that nowadays, with his sixties already completed, far is the Murphy that still makes us laugh from that aged version we were shown in the movie.

8. Marlon Brando in The Godfather

To bring Vito Corleone to the big screen in his 50s and into his late 60s, Marlon resorted to makeup. In the picture on the right, we can see what the actor really looked like at 56.

9. Sally Field in Forrest Gump

At 46, Sally Field played Mrs. Gump at different ages, including an older version. At the time of the shooting, she was only 10 years older than her son in the movie who was played by Tom Hanks.

10. Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Cate Blanchett played Daisy Williams in the renowned film starring alongside Brad Pitt. In this production, the actress played Daisy at different ages. In the scene on the left, her character was around 57 years old, while in real life the actress was not even in her 40s.

11. Embeth Davidtz in Bicentennial Man

In this film, the actress plays dual roles, both grandmother and granddaughter, developing a generational leap, meaning she gets a lot of screen time, and the skill to “live” for 2 centuries in which the story takes place. Throughout the film, we can see her aging, even as a very old woman on the verge of death. In these 2 images we have selected, their ages would be approximately similar.

12. Julianne Moore in The Hours

For this psychological drama, the actress played both the younger and older version of Laura Brown. At the time, she was in her 40s, so the makeup allowed her to make the leap in time she needed for the film.

13. Jada Pinkett Smith in Matrix Resurrections

After 18 years, Jada returned to the role of Niobe, who was given a look that made the passage of time evident to those outside the Matrix. After so many years, the actress still looks very beautiful.

Still on the topic of stars who age well, some embrace their wrinkles with such confidence that they become even prettier as the years go by. Check for yourself!