23 Age Gaps Between Actors Who Played Parent And Child That Are So Small, It's Ridiculous

It was recently announced that Tom Holland (25) was cast in a new TV series, where Emmy Rossum, who's only 10 years older than him, will be playing his mom.

Side-by-sides of Tom Holland and Emmy Rossum on red carpets
Getty Images

The series, The Crowded Room, will be an anthology series about people who have successfully learned to live with their mental illnesses.

Tom Holland on a red carpet
Pablo Cuadra / WireImage / Getty Images

And since Tom Holland is 25 and Emmy Rossum is only 35, many people feel that their age gap is too small to play parent and child.

However, writer Carina Adly Mackenzie clarified that most of Emmy's scenes will be flashbacks to when Tom's character was around 4 years old.

Still, since this casting has started a conversation around age differences in movies and film, I figured I'd compile a list of other TV shows and movies that have strangely small age gaps between actors who played parent and child.

Paramount Pictures

We asked the members of the BuzzFeed Community to give us some examples and here are their shocking responses:

1.Kate Mara was 25 during the filming of Brokeback Mountain.

Kate Mara in a scene from the movie
Focus Features

Heath Ledger was 25 during filming.

Heath Ledger in a scene from the movie
Focus Features

In the movie, they played father and daughter.

Kate and Heath in a scene from the film
Focus Features

2.David Duchovny from The X-Files was born in 1960.

David in a scene from the movie
Fox

Rebecca Toolan was born in 1959.

Rebecca Toolan in a scene from the show
Fox

In The X-Files she plays his mom, even though they are only one year apart.

Side-by-sides of David and Rebecca Toolan

3.Adam Garcia was 28 when Riding in Cars with Boys came out.

Adam in a scene from the movie
Sony Pictures Releasing

Drew Barrymore was 26 when the film came out.

Drew in a scene from the movie
Sony Pictures Releasing

So Adam Garcia was two years older than Drew Barrymore when he played her son in the film.

A scene of Adam and Drew from the movie
Sony Pictures Releasing

4.Elizabeth Rodriguez was born in 1980.

Elizabeth Rodriguez in a scene from a show
Netflix

Dascha Polanco was born in 1982.

Dascha in a scene from the show
Netflix

In Orange Is the New Black, Elizabeth Rodriguez played Dascha Polanco's mother even though they have a two-year age gap.

Elizabeth and Dascha talking in a scene from the show

Elizabeth is older than Dascha by exactly one year, 11 months, and six days.

Sarah Wainschel

Netflix

5.Gina Rodirguez was 29 when Jane the Virgin started filming.

Gina in a scene from the movie
The CW

Andrea Navedo was 36 when it started filming.

Andrea in a scene from the film
The CW

In Jane the Virgin, Andrea Navedo and Gina Rodriguez played mother and daughter.

Gina and Andrea sitting together on the bus in a scene from the movie

"Granted, Xiomara (Andrea Navedo) was a teen mom, so I think they’re only supposed to be 16–17 years apart, but still."

moonjock1

The CW

6.Taron Egerton was 28 when Rocketman, started filming.

Taron in a scene from the movie
Paramount Picturees

Bryce Dallas Howard was 37 during filming.

Bryce in a scene from the movie
Paramount Pictures

They played mother and son in the film.

Taron and Bryce talking on the phone in a scene from the movie
Paramount Pictures

7.Rachel McAdams was 26 years old during the filming of Mean Girls.

Rachel in a scene from the movie
Paramount Pictures

Amy Poehler was 33 during the filming of the movie.

Amy in a scenee from the movie
Paramount Picturese

In the movie, Rachel McAdams plays Regina and Amy Poehler plays Regina's mom.

Amy and Rachel in a scene form the movie
Paramount Pictures

8.Tom Selleck is currently 77 years old.

  CBS
CBS

Len Cariou is currently 82 years old.

  CBS
CBS

In Blue Bloods, Len Cariou plays Tom Selleck’s father.

Tom and Len in a scene from the movie

9.Colin Farrell was 28 in Alexander.

Colin in a scene from the movie
Warner Brothers

Angelina Jolie was 29 in the film.

Angelina in a scene from the movie
Warner Brothers

She played his mother in the movie.

Angelina and Colin in a scene from the movie
Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

10.Orlando Bloom was 35 during filming of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Orlando in a scene from the movie
Warner Bros. Pictures

Lee Pace was 33 years old during the filming of the movie.

Lee in a scene from the movie
Warner Bros. Pictures

Even though Lee Pace is two years younger than Orlando Bloom, Lee played Orlando's father in the movie.

Lee and Orlando in a scene from the movie
Warner Bros. Pictures

11.Zachary Quinto was 30 when the 2009 Star Trek movie started filming.

  Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures

Winona Ryder was 36 when the movie started filming.

Winona in a scene from the movie
Paramount Pictures

In the movie she played his mother.

Winona and Zachary in a scene from the movie
Paramount Pictures

12.George Lopez was 41 at the start of The George Lopez Show.

George in a scene for the show
ABC

Belita Moreno was 52 at the start of the series.

Belita in a scene from the show
ABC

Belita played George's mother on the show.

George and Belita in a scene from the show
ABC

13.Monique was born in 1978.

Monique in a scene from the show
UPN

Countess Vaughn was born in 1967.

Countess Vaughn in a scene from the show
UPN

For five years, Countess Vaughn played Monique's daughter on The Parkers.

Monique and Countess Vaughn in a scene from the show
UPN

14.Meryl Streep was 69 in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Meryl in a scene from the movie
Universal Pictures

Cher was 72 during filming.

Cher in a scene from the movie
Universal Pictures

In the movie, Cher played Meryl Streep's mom.

Cher and Meryl in a scene from the movie
Universal Pictures

15.Janet Hubert was born in 1956.

  NBC
NBC

Karyn Parsons was born in 1966.

  NBC
NBC

In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Janet Hubert and Karyn Parsons played mother and daughter despite having a 10-year age gap.

Janet and Karen in scenes from the show
NBC

16.Tom Hanks was 37 during the filming of Forrest Gump.

Tom in a scene from the movie
Paramount Pictures

Sally Field was 47 during filming of the movie.

  Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures

Sally Field played Tom Hanks's mom in the movie.

Still from the movie with Tom Hanks and Sally Field holding hands while she's on her sick bed
Paramount Pictures

17.Essence Atkins was 25 when the first season of Smart Guy aired.

Essence in a scene from the show
The WB

John Marshall was 35 during the first season.

John in a scene from the movie
The WB

They played father and daughter on the show.

John and Essence in a scene from the show

"Essence was born Feb. 7, 1972, while John was born July 5, 1962."

Spencer Althouse

The WB

18.Harrison Ford was 46 during the filming of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Sean tied up in a scene from the movie
Paramount Pictures

Sean Connery was 58 during filming of the movie.

Harrison talking in a scene from the movie
Paramount Pictures

Sean played Harrison's father despite only being12 years older than him.

Sean and Harrison in a scene from the film
Paramount Pictures

19.Jennifer Lopez was 27 years old when she starred in Selena.

Jennifer in a scene from the movie
Warner Bros.

Constance Marie was 31 years old when she was in the movie.

Constance in a scene from the movie
Warner Bros.

They played mother and daughter in the movie with only a four-year age difference.

Constance and Jennifer in scenes from the film
Warner Bros.

20.Mandy Moore is currently 37 years old.

Mandy Moore in a scene from the show
NBC

Sterling K. Brown is currently 45 years old.

Sterling K. Brown in a scene from the show
NBC

Justin Hartley is also currently 45 years old.

Justin Hartley in a scene from the show
NBC

Christina Metz is 41 years old.

Christina Metz in a scene from the show
NBC

In This Is Us, Mandy Moore plays Sterling, Justin, and Christina's mother despite being younger than all of them

The cast of This Is US

21.Bellamy Young was 50 in the first season of Prodigal Son.

Bellamy in a scene from the show
Fox

Michael Sheen was 51 during the first season.

Michael in a scene from the movie
Fox

Tom Payne was 38 during the first season.

Tom in a scene from the show
Fox

In the show, Bellamy Young and Michael Sheen play Tom Payne's parents.

Belamy, Michael, and Tom in scenes from the show
Fox

22.Peter Krause was born in 1965.

Peter in a scene from the show
HBO

Frances Conroy was born in 1953.

Frances in a scene from the show
HBO

In Six Feet Under, Frances Conroy and Peter Krause play mother and son, even though they’re only separated by 12 years.

Frances and Peter in scenes from the show
HBO

23.And lastly, Estelle Getty was 62 when Golden Girls started.

Estelle in a scene from the show
NBC

Bea Arthur was 63 when the show started.

Bea in a scene from the show
NBC

Despite Estelle Getty being younger than Bea Arthur, Estelle played Bea's mother on the show.

Estelle and Bea in scenes from the show
NBC

What age gap between actors who played parent and child shocked you? Let us know in the comments!