Maggie Gyllenhaal Told She's 'Too Old' To Play 55-Year-Old's Love Interest

According to 37-year-old Maggie Gyllenhaal, gender inequality in Hollywood is alive and well.

During an interview with TheWrap, the actress shared a memory of being turned down for a role as the lover of a 55-year-old male lead.

The story is especially astounding in its timeliness. It arrives just weeks after comedian Amy Schumer joked about actresses' "Last F*ckable Day" on television.

Gyllenhaal told the magazine,

It was astonishing to me. It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh.

Age discrimination against women is a deeply-rooted practice in Hollywood. Consider the 1963 classic film "Charade," the movie where Audrey Hepburn played the love interest of Cary Grant, a man 25 years her senior.

For Gyllenhaal, however, prospects for female actresses look increasingly bright.

She added she's "looking with hope" to the future of film and television, saying,

A lot of actresses are doing incredible work right now, playing real women, complicated women.

Gyllenhaal, who stars in "The Honourable Woman," isn't giving up the fight for better roles any time soon.

Citations: Maggie Gyllenhaal was told 37 is too old to play love interest of a 55 year old man (USA Today)