“Fire Country” Star Says Age-Gap Romances Are 'Hurting' Hollywood After 2 TV Love Interests 'Older Than My Father'

Diane Farr published an essay about the importance of casting women opposite men their own age in 'Entertainment Weekly' on Thursday

Fire Country star Diane Farr is speaking out about an overlooked issue in Hollywood.

The actress, 54, wrote an op-ed published in Entertainment Weekly on Thursday about the importance of casting middle age women — and casting them in roles their own age and opposite male costars of the same age.

The performer, who portrays Sharon Leone on the hit CBS series, notes that much of the popularity of the show has been attributed to her chemistry with Billy Burke, who plays her husband Vince Leone on the show. She reasons that Burke, 57, is also a rare costar she’s worked with who has been close in age to her.

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Farr writes, “This the norm on American TV, and even less when you consider we are both over 50. Age parity — hiring women who are the age a character is written, and within the same decade as their male costar — has yet to become a standard in film and TV, or even a consideration despite movement toward racial, gender, sexual orientation, and pay parity.”

The TV star says her other most successful project, USA’s Rescue Me, also included pay parity. “On the other eight shows, my love interests were 10 years older; 20 years older; and, twice, older than my father at 25 years my senior,” she writes. “And none achieved the same success.”

In the piece, Farr also recounts an experience in which she was struggling to find work after she left Numb3rs to stay home with her children. At the time, she had become pregnant with twins shortly after the birth of her firstborn at 41.

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“A year later, when I was ready to return to work, I screen-tested twice for roles [at CBS]. In both instances, I was the creator’s choice,” she reflects. “Letters were written to the then-president, and calls were made by the male stars pushing for me. But both roles eventually went to women a decade younger, and the feedback was the same each time: ‘She’s too old. We need someone sexy.’”

Throughout the guest essay, Farr also shares the experiences of fellow TV actors, such as former The Walking Dead star Sarah Wayne Callies, longtime film/TV star Marcia Gay Harden, The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas and even Andy Garcia, who casted Gloria Estefan opposite him in 2022’s Father of the Bride.

While Wayne Callies, 46, expresses that it feels like a “lie” when women portray parts outside of their age and have much older costars, Gay Harden, 64, opens up about how older actresses can be “dismissed as sexually unviable” at a certain age.

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The Fire Country star asks, “Is it possible to be authentic with your costar if you come from different generations, classes, educational backgrounds, and methods of working? Yes. Is it better if people represent the gender, nationality, race, and actual sexual orientation they live? So far, as an industry, we believe it is.”

She continues, “So it should also apply to women playing the age a character is written because they have voices worth hearing, and representation matters.”

As the actress notes in her Entertainment Weekly article, Michelle Yeoh prompted a conversation about the importance of significant roles going to older actresses last year when she received praise for starring in Everything Everywhere All At Once, and went on to win the Academy Award for best actress.

Yeoh, 61, said in her acceptance speech, “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that, dream big, and dreams do come true. And ladies don't let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime.”

Fire Country premiered on CBS in October 2022 and was renewed for a second season in January 2023. The show became the most popular series on air during its debut season, earning 8 million viewers per episode, per Deadline.

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Fire Country returns for season 2 on Friday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS and streams on Paramount+.

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