Maggie Gyllenhaal Told She Was Too Old to Play 55-Year-Old's Girlfriend

She's 37: "It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry."

ByABC News
May 21, 2015, 2:23 PM
Maggie Gyllenhaal arrives at the 40th Anniversary Gracies Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, May 19, 2015, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Maggie Gyllenhaal arrives at the 40th Anniversary Gracies Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, May 19, 2015, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
AP Photo

— -- Maggie Gyllenhaal is letting everyone know that at 37, she was turned down to play the role of a girlfriend to a 55-year-old man -- because she was too old.

“There are things that are really disappointing about being an actress in Hollywood that surprise me all the time,” she told TheWrap. “I’m 37 and I was told recently I was too old to play the lover of a man who was 55."

She added, "It was astonishing to me. It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh.”

The Oscar-nominated actress and star of “The Honourable Woman" wouldn't say what project the movie was, but sounds like she wants to look on the bright side.

“A lot of actresses are doing incredible work right now, playing real women, complicated women,” she continued. “I don’t feel despairing at all. And I’m more looking with hope for something fascinating.”