Hollywood ageism strikes again...
Actress Olivia Wilde may be only 32, but it seems that by Hollywood standards she's already considered 'too old' to be matched with most leading actors... including Mr. Oscar himself, Leonardo DiCaprio.
Proving ageism in Hollywood is never truly dead, Olivia has revealed in an interview with The Howard Stern Show that when she auditioned to play Leo's wife in The Wolf Of Wall Street, she was told she didn't get the role because 'she was too sophisticated.'
Speaking about her audition, she said, 'The funniest thing I heard recently was... that I was too sophisticated for a part. And I was like, ‘Oh, that sounds nice. I like that feedback. I didn’t get the part, but I’m a very sophisticated person.’ And then I found out later that they actually said ‘old.’ I want to make a translation sheet for Hollywood that’s all the feedback your agents give you and what it really means.'
The problem? Olivia Wilde is 9 years younger than Leo.
Let that ridiculousness sink in.
Margot Robbie, 25, would go on to steal the role earning her rave reviews and becoming her breakout role, which is all well and good, because we love her too, but really, we're calling bullshit on this director's rationale.
This isn't the first time Hollywood ageism has reared it's ugly head. Star Wars' Carrie Fisher responded brilliantly to critics who claimed she 'didn't age well' in her role as Princess Leia... Despite the fact that Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill received no similar backlash.
And a 2015 study into the gender age gap between Hollywood's leading ladies and their male counterparts revealed that the average age of women on screen is never older than that of their male partners, with female actors usually four and half years younger than their male co-stars.
But while there's still a lot of work to be done until the industry gets their act together, Olivia is taking the snub in her stride. Writing on her Twitter, 'My point about not being cast in "Wolf o W-Street" was that we have to trust the process because I ended up with my dream job on "Vinyl". And my interview went on to say that Margot Robbie crushed that role like a sexy ninja and I LOVED her in it.'
Still, it would be nice when these double standards weren't just thrown around in the industry, wouldn't it?
