Top 10 Young to Old Castings
Something that can really help move forward the story and character growth in a film is the use of flashbacks. And oft in flashbacks we see younger versions of the characters we see in film. This is done even more in television and I’ll mention some notable examples, such as: Jenna Ortega as young Jane Villanueva in ‘Jane the Virgin,’ the different ages of Kevin, Kate, & Randall Pearson in ‘This is Us,’ and Millie Alcock as Rhaenyra Targaryen in ‘The House of the Dragon.’ For them to qualify for this list, both the young and old characters and their actors had to appear in the same film (not just the same franchise).
Isabela Ferrer & Blake Lively as Lily Bloom in ‘It Ends with Us’- Look at me starting with the relevant movie. While I discussed in my review my displeasure with Lively’s performance, whoever cast Isabela Ferrer as a younger version of Lily Bloom deserves a lot of credit. The resemblance between the two is striking, even down to similar birthmarks on their faces. I also think the two actors played Atlas (Alex Neustaedter & Brandon Sklenar) is worth noting.
Walker Scobell & Ryan Reynolds as Adam in ‘The Adam Project’- I’ll be the first to admit that these actors do not resemble each other in the slightest. But they have something equally as important, the same vibe. The two exude the same personality, which really makes very good sense for Percy Jackson & Deadpool, and if you watch interviews with the actors in real lives, they do have incredibly similar personalities.
Ariana Greenblat & Zoe Saldaña as Gamora in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’- This may seem like a weird addition since if you put the green make-up on correctly, anyone could look like Gamora. But, if you look at the two actresses even without make-up they do slightly resemble one another. Greenblatt very much made a name for herself playing younger version of characters, as she also voiced a young version of Gina Rodriguez’s Velma in ‘Scoob!,’ played a young version of Leslie Grace’s Nina Rosario in ‘In the Heights,’ & played a young Ahsoka Tano across from Hayden Christensen’s Anakin in some Clone Wars era scenes in Disney+’s ‘Ahsoka’ tv series, starring Rosario Dawson as the older version of the titular character.
Alyla Browne & Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa in ‘Furiosa’- In this one, it is also based on more the personality (or maybe lack there of?) than the looks. Both actresses play a character who is already a younger version of a character and they do it so well with such a minimal amount of dialogue.
Martin Freeman & Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins in ‘The Hobbit’- Ian Holm’s almost cameo-esque role in ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ means I get to include one of my favorite castings. I think Ian Holm was great as Uncle Bilbo in the LOTR films, but Martin Freeman’s take on the character during his own adventure is one my all-time favorite portrayals. I also think the character being brought to life exactly how I envision him in the book makes it that much sweeter.
Mackenzie Foy, Jessica Chastain, & Ellen Burstyn as Murph in ‘Interstellar’- We have a triple threat from one of the best films of all time. There are varying amounts of screen time for these 3 actresses, but all 3 manage to convey the same character across several decades of her life. Mackenzie Foy portrays the sadness of a girl who lost her father, Jessica Chastain portrays the anger of a woman who resents him, & Ellen Burstyn portrays the absolute awe & amazement of getting him back.
Josh Dylan & Stellan Skarsgård as Bill Anderson in ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’- There were a few different options from this film I could’ve gone with, like Lily James & Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan. But the casting team really got the looks down with Josh Dylan & Stellan Skarsgård as one of Sophie’s potential fathers.
Josh Brolin & Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K in ‘Men in Black 3’- I’ve seen some folks that have complained that this one didn’t work because the respective actors are too recognizable, so they couldn’t see beyond that. But I think that’s what makes it work. Two extremely well-known actors managed to sync up (namely Brolin doing a Jones impression) and both used the same approach on their chemistry with Will Smith.
Kate Winslet & Gloria Stuart as Rose in ‘Titanic’- I think what really speaks to this is that both actresses were able to receive Oscar nominations for their performances as Rose in ‘Titanic.’ They were able to both bring this character to life, but portray entirely different emotions. Winslet brought the disdain for life and realization of what else existed, while Stuart brought the yearning for what once was.
James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender & Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Professor X and Magneto in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’- To me, this is peak young to old casting. I’m glad the X-Men timeline makes no sense and we were able to get the two duos together in ‘Days of Future Past.’ Just genuinely, the castings of Stewart & McKellen were perfect as Charles & Erik, and then McAvoy & Fassbender was somehow equally as perfect.
