Chimney Sweep

Harrison Ford, Julie Andrews and the legion of older actors nonetheless working in Hollywood

Although ageism is known to be rampant in Hollywood, there are some actors who continue to book roles even as the number of candles on their birthday cake grows.

Screen legends Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren may be 80 and 77, respectively, but they’re currently showing young Hollywood a thing or two about staying power as the stars of the popular Yellowstone spin-off 1923.

Having worked on five projects since 2017 and five more in the pipeline, including this year’s highly anticipated Indiana Jones and Dial of Destiny, Ford isn’t the only star enjoying a long career in Tinseltown. Here are 10 of the oldest working actors in Hollywood.

1. Al Pacino, 82

The New York-born Oscar winner, who has earned a reputation as one of the most influential actors on the planet, still shows no signs of slowing down.

After studying method acting with Lee Strasberg at the famed Actors Studio in New York City, Pacino has impersonated some of cinema’s most enduring roles, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Tony Montana in Scarface, and Vincent Hanna in Heat. and Sonny Wortzik in Dog Day Afternoon. .

With no fewer than four upcoming projects, including portraying Shakespeare’s King Lear, the actor is just one Grammy away from EGOT.

2. Lily Tomlin, 83

Six decades after her big break on US variety TV show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, comic actress Lily Tomlin is still a sought-after actress.

The Detroit-born star transformed her beginnings as a stand-up comic into a film career focused on comedy and drama.

She won a legion of fans as the hilarious Violet Newstead in 1980’s 9-5, appearing in The X-Files and The West Wing.

With a Grammy, six Emmys and two Tonys, she is flying the flag for older actresses in Hollywood alongside Jane Fonda, 85, in the Netflix comedy series Frankie and Grace.

3.Ian McKellen, 83

McKellan, still in his ninth decade, has dabbled in everything from Shakespeare to fantasy and drama to science fiction throughout his career.

Most recently, the British actor took to the stage as a pantomime as Mother Goose at the Theater Royal Brighton and lamented to the Radio Times: “Aging should come with a health warning.”

Known for his roles as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings films and its spin-offs, and as Magneto in 2000’s X-Men and its sequels, the star, who has won six Laurence Olivier Awards, was recognized in 1991 for his Achievements in performing arts knighted.

4. Anthony Hopkins, 85

“I’m just grateful that I’m alive and they’re still giving me jobs. Keeps me out of trouble huh?” the Welsh actor told The Guardian last year while promoting his latest film Armageddon Time.

Hopkins won his second Oscar for his role in The Father in 2021 at the age of 83 – making him the oldest-ever Oscar winner for best actor – and has created some memorable characters throughout his career, including the still terrifying Dr . Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs.

Refusing to retire, he has three projects ahead of him, including a role as the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud.

5. Julie Andrews, 87

Who can’t help but recognize the famously soft tones narrating the action on the Netflix show Bridgerton, and Julie Andrews’ voiceover work as Lady Whistledown has brought the British actress a whole new generation of fans.

The British actress impersonates some of Hollywood’s most famous and popular roles as Mary Poppins in the 1964 film, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Queen Clarisse Renaldi in The Princess Diaries, the British actress has won one Oscar, six Golden Globes and three Grammys boast.

6.Donald Sutherland, 87

While younger generations recognize him as the villainous President Snow in the Hunger Games trilogy, it would take older moviegoers more than two hands to count the number of famous roles the Canadian star has shaped.

Mr. Bennet of “Pride and Prejudice”, Matthew Bennell in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and John Baxter in “Don’t Look Now” are just a few highlights in a resume stretched and counted over six decades.

7. Judi Dench, 88

The English actress made her professional debut at London’s Old Vic in 1957 and rose to prominence as a respected Shakespearean actress as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth.

Dench, who was made a lady in 1998, last starred in the Oscar-winning 2021 Belfast and has been credited with breathing new life into the character M during Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond.

She won the 1998 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Shakespeare in Love, despite only being on screen for eight minutes.

8.Michael Caine, 89

Born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite on March 14, 1933 in London, the British actor has made his career playing highly quotable characters.

The two-time Academy Award winner has two new films in production, including Now You See Me 3, and has shown his comedic skills as Victor Melling in Miss Congeniality, his villainous side as Lawrence Jamieson in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and unleashed his inner lovable villain as Charlie Croker in The Italian Job of 1969.

“He makes it look effortless,” said his The Dark Knight co-star Christian Bale.

9.Rita Moreno, 91

Still busy in her 90s, EGOT winner Rita Moreno hasn’t stopped working since her debut in the 1950 film So Young, So Bad.

As the doomed Tuptim in The King and I, it was her turn as Anita in the 1961 classic West Side Story that really cemented her position in Hollywood, a role for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress won.

The Puerto Rican actress recently enjoyed something of a career resurgence and is next set to appear in sports comedy 80 for Brady alongside veterans Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Sally Field.

10. Dick van Dyke, 97

Known for some of cinema’s most iconic roles, including Bert the Chimney Sweep in Mary Poppins and Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and at 97, the Missouri native is still busy.

Having recently been introduced to a younger generation of movie fans in the films Night at the Museum, his performance as Mr. Dawes Jr. in 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns proved to be a “hugely moving” moment for his co-star Emily Blunt, who said : “His eyes and smile are burned into your memory.”

Updated January 12, 2023 7:02 am

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