The legendary appeal of the silver fox is nothing new, but Hollywood’s current crop of actors over the age of 40 might be making more hearts race than ever. It’s not simply that these stars look good “for their age,” it’s that they’re somehow getting more attractive. So, what’s behind the surge in sexiness?
While it might be tempting to credit advances in cosmetic surgery and skincare, there’s more to it than that. Of course, today’s male celebs certainly benefit from botox and hair transplants. Still, the aging process only seems to expand upon the existing level of handsomeness for many actors.
Pedro Pascal makes a perfect case study of a man who’s gotten exponentially hotter as he’s grown older. The 49-year-old Gladiator II star was always good looking, of course—but somewhere along the way, he made the transition from merely cute to smolderingly sexy. Consider a baby-faced Pascal in one of his first roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1999: Clean-shaven and smooth-skinned, he was undeniably handsome; however, there was none of the tantalizing edginess that would come later on. By the time Pascal played Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones in 2014, something had shifted. As the charismatic, sexually voracious, physically intimidating Red Viper, Pascal was every inch the badass, his former sweetness alchemized into something far more compelling. In the years since, this transformation has only continued to evolve. As Joel on The Last of Us, Pascal is utterly believable as a rugged (if sensitive) zombie hunter, while his role in Gladiator II is the perfect vehicle for his fittingly Roman profile. It’s as if the rest of his face has caught up to that glorious nose at last, in a way Pascal’s younger self could never have imagined possible. Still, the intensity in his eyes is the real draw…deep enough to get lost in, there’s a particular sort of pull that’s unique to more mature men.
The Last of Us • Photo courtesy HBO.
Earlier this year, a viral meme revealed a surprising fact: Brad Pitt is slightly older than Minnesota governor Tim Walz (both men are 60). The internet reeled at this discovery, with social media users speculating why the actor seems to be aging at a drastically slower pace than the politician. Some pointed out that the two have led very different lives—privileged movie star versus middle class high school teacher. Others argued that style is a contributing factor. But ultimately, the real question has more to do with Pitt than Walz. A more apt comparison would be that of Pitt and a fellow 90’s heartthrob like Leonardo DiCaprio. To be fair, Leo at 50 has retained enough of his appeal to ensure that he’s never without a love interest at least 20 years his junior on his arm. But fans aren’t raving about how he’s aging like a fine wine, as they do with Pitt. Why do so many people find the Ocean’s Eleven star more attractive now than when he bared his abs in Thelma & Louise at the tender age of 27?
Pitt channeled some of the swagger of that breakout performance in a more recent role, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Cliff Booth, somehow managing to be even more gorgeous at 55 as the washed-up 70’s stunt man. Take, for example, the scene where Booth pulls his Cadillac over to pick up teenage hitchhiker Pussycat (Margaret Qualley). There’s a slight weariness to his bemused smile that’s strangely endearing; this man has seen a thing or two in his day, and it makes the viewer want to get inside his head almost as much as his pants. Yes, he’s in fighting form with a golden tan and perfectly shaggy hair, but that’s not the reason why you want to climb in his car—or not the whole reason. Given the choice, who wouldn’t rather have this wry, wise version of Pitt behind the wheel in place of the carefree cowboy who seduced Geena Davis?
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood • Photo Andrew Cooper • Sony Pictures.
Pitt’s Wolfs co-star, George Clooney, has lost none of the old-school Hollywood charm he’s been selling for decades; on the contrary, his magnetism has only become more powerful. As with Pascal, it’s all about the eyes. Analyze Clooney today versus his E.R.-era self: With his sharper features, more prominent eyebrows and silver hair, his impossibly dark eyes take center stage. A young Clooney was plausible enough as a competent medical professional, but Clooney today seems capable of just about anything, even pulling off the usual action hero schtick at the age of 63.
Wolfs • Photo courtesy AppleTV+.
As an Academy Award winner who’s served as fantasy fodder since he played a doctor on St. Elsewhere in the early 80’s, one might expect Denzel Washington’s hunk era to be a thing of the past by now. On the contrary, he’s ridiculously sexy as cunning Roman arms dealer Macrinus in Gladiator II. Is it the gold hoop earrings? The salt-and-pepper Caesar cut? Whatever it is, at 69 years old, Washington has hit another peak.
Gladiator 2 • Photo: Aidan Monaghan • Paramount.
Ethan Hawke has lost some of the self-assuredness he had as a young buck in such Gen X classics as Before Sunrise and Reality Bites. In its place is something even more enchanting…a raw, almost subversive quality. He knows too much to be arrogant now, and that knowledge is the ultimate turn-on.
Alas, this wisdom of the ages isn’t always perceived as seductive in women. It’s impossible to examine the ways aging has worked to the advantage of these actors without also recognizing that their female counterparts are typically vilified for exhibiting the very same signs of growing older. More and more prominent actresses are speaking out against this disparity.
In a 2023 interview with British Vogue, Gwyneth Paltrow called the pervasive double standard “culture’s problem.”
“This idea that we’re supposed to be frozen in time is so weird,” she said. “I love it when I hear somebody like Andie MacDowell, with her beautiful grey curls, talking about embracing aging and the difference between how we handle a George Clooney [compared to how most women are perceived]. It’s handsome to go grey [as a man], but for women it’s like, ‘What do you plan to do about your wrinkles and your aging skin?’”
In response, a growing number of female stars are choosing to embrace their changing appearances, with many—from Kate Winslet to Catherine O’Hara to Jodie Foster to Julianne Moore—turning up their (unaltered) noses at plastic surgery. Speaking to Allure in 2023, Charlize Theron shared her own reasons for resisting the pressure to get work done as a woman.
“I’ve always had issues with the fact that men kind of age like fine wines and women like cut flowers,” she said. “I despise that concept and I want to fight against it, but I also think women want to age in a way that feels right to them. I think we need to be a little bit more empathetic to how we all go through our journey. My journey of having to see my face on a billboard is quite funny now.”
After all, aging gracefully isn’t a gender-specific skill…and as men like Clooney and Pitt prove, there’s no expiration date on desirability.
