The entertainment industry's practice of casting significantly older actors as teenagers has been exposed by a Harry Potter star's recent revelations. Shirley Henderson, known to millions as the ghostly Moaning Myrtle, has shared surprising details about her casting experience that highlight Hollywood's complicated relationship with age.
The Ghostly Teenager Who Was Actually 37
In a recent interview with The Independent, Shirley Henderson disclosed that she was 37 years old when she portrayed the 14-year-old ghost Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter film franchise. The Scottish actor, now 60, recalled the unusual casting process that led to her iconic role in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire in 2004.
"The casting director said, 'Go for it – and don't mention your age,'" Henderson revealed about her audition experience. She followed this advice completely, even dressing the part by arriving at the audition in a schoolgirl uniform consisting of a white shirt, black skirt, and ponytail.
"I went to the audition dressed as a schoolgirl thinking, 'This is ridiculous,'" Henderson told Radio Times earlier this month. Despite her initial doubts, the strategy proved successful. After months of waiting and thinking she hadn't gotten the part, the production contacted her agent and offered her the role.
How Hollywood Conceals Actors' Real Ages
Henderson's experience reflects a broader industry pattern where actors, particularly women, are encouraged to obscure their actual age. The Harry Potter star explained how she managed to convincingly play a teenager despite being in her late thirties. "Myrtle is an old person in a young person's body and because she's ghosty, there's a kind of mistiness," Henderson shared. "You're not looking closely at my face so we could get away with it."
This phenomenon isn't isolated to Henderson's case. Nicole Coughlan, the 38-year-old star of Derry Girls and Bridgerton, has also spoken publicly about being advised to hide her age in the industry. Despite looking decades younger than her actual age, Coughlan expressed discomfort with the practice.
"I had been advised many, many years ago by people in industry to lie about my age," Coughlan revealed in an interview with Refinery29 last year. "I really wasn't comfortable with it, mainly because I'm like, I'm not a good liar. And I would feel weird about that."
The Lasting Impact of Industry Ageism
The pressure to conceal one's age creates significant ethical and personal dilemmas for actors. Coughlan acknowledged the difficult position the industry's ageism creates, noting that she often questions her decision to be transparent about her age.
"I do have times when I go home and I'm like, should I have just not disclosed it? Should I have not done that?" she wondered. This internal conflict highlights the persistent age discrimination that affects casting decisions and career opportunities in Hollywood and beyond.
The revelations from both Henderson and Coughlan underscore how common age concealment has become in the entertainment industry. From fantasy franchises like Harry Potter to popular television series, the practice of casting older actors as teenagers remains widespread, raising questions about authenticity and age representation in media.
