What’s wrong with wrinkles? Ageism row as Carey Mulligan, 35, cast as 56-year-old

The choice of casting for a new movie has sparked debate over ageism in the film industry after 35-year-old Carey Mulligan was cast for the role of a 56-year-old woman in the Netflix film The Dig. The film follows the true story of Edith Pretty who hired an archeologist, Basil Brown, to excavate the grounds of her estate in 1939.

However, the 21-year age difference between the actor and her real-life counterpart has upset a number of figures in the industry as well as audiences, particularly as her co-star, 58-year-old Ralph Fiennes, was cast for the leading role of Basil Brown who was actually 51 during the time the film covers.

Producers of the movie have said the leading lady role was initially intended for 53-year-old Nicole Kidman, but when Mulligan secured it, she was “aged up” to fit the role, according to the Mirror. 

When speaking on the topic, Mulligan said: “There is an age disparity between me and the character, but the sense of her I think was the most important thing. But it was more important to honour Edith’s character and the humble, generous, extraordinary woman she was.”

The director Simon Stone defended the casting of the film, which was originally based off a book, by saying: “The book departs from the truth in a lot of aspects and doesn’t purport to be absolutely accurate, so the scope for departing from accuracy was there.”

But those on Twitter weren’t satisfied with the explanations with 58-year-old actress Beatie Edney writing: “Is it true the real life woman in The Dig, Edith Pretty, was 56 years old? She’s played by 35 year old #CareyMulligan. They just won’t allow women over 40 on the screen will they? #ageism #middleagedwomen”.

While 55-year-old actress Catherine Russell responded by saying: “I don’t blame Ms Mulligan, we all need the work, but please, if the part requires a woman of a certain age – FFS – give it to us!!!”

Meanwhile a viewer said casting someone too young isn’t just ageist but can also be detrimental to the plot: “Really like Carey Mulligan but Edith Pretty had to wait until age of 56 to realise her dream of investigating the mounds. This important point is lost by casting such a young actor.”

And the statistics on older women in film don’t paint a pretty picture either with 2019 figures gathered by Women in Hollywood showing that only three films that year featured female leads or co-leads who were 45 years old or older. Plus, women only filled a quarter of speaking roles among those aged 40 or older.

But not everyone agreed with the claims with one Twitter user writing: “It’s called acting, you muppets.”