Feisty, frail or fiendish: why do film-makers still insist on shoving older characters into stereotypes?

entertainment • 9/22/2025

There’s been a dramatic increase in actors of pensionable age playing starring roles in movies – but why are the three Fs the only personalities they get to play?

A decade and a half ago, in 2009, I watched over 300 films, and I counted only three featuring senior citizens in significant roles. But the times they are a-changing, because leading characters of pensionable age are all over the place nowadays, whe... [7006 chars]