Older women get better roles, says star, 28

STORIES about Hollywood’s love affair with youth and disregard for older women are common, but that script could now be put out to pasture.

Phoebe Dynevor, the Bridgerton star, has claimed that the best roles are being awarded to older actresses.

While veterans of stage and screen often complain that they are cast off in favour of young starlets when they reach a certain age, Dynevor, 28, argued that the opposite is true.

The actress said performers of her age struggle to secure decent roles, while it is a “really good time” for older women in the industry.

Her actress mother Sally, 60, has played Sally Webster in ITV’S Coronation Street for 38 years, while hit British TV series such as Vera and Happy Valley feature older women in lead roles.

Dynevor, who first appeared in Bridgerton, the Netflix period romance, in 2020, said of the current trends in the TV industry: “It’s a really good time for older women, which is amazing, and there’s a lot for these young men, but not a lot for the actresses that I know in my age bracket.”

Speaking to the Evening Standard, she added: “I have read some great scripts recently. And yeah, I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but there is still, like, not that many parts going.

“There is such a space for male actors … there are so many of them. And they’re all great. They’re all very tal- ented young men, and they do not stop working, and good for them.

“But, you know, when I think about the girls my age… there’s way more room for them and there is still not enough room for us.”

In 2023, Bafta hailed its Best Actress shortlist as a “victory for mature women”, as Imelda Staunton, 68, Billie Piper, 41, and Sarah Lancashire, 59, were nominated.

Dynevor’s claims come after years of complaints about the sidelining of older actresses, with Michelle Yeoh, the 2022 Best Actress Oscar-winner, warning that landing big roles becomes more difficult with age and Nicole Kidman saying “at 40 you’re about done”.