Hollywood stars who are younger than you’d think because they’ve been around so long-Rebecca Sayce-Entertainment – Metro

Some of the biggest Hollywood stars have not had careers as long as you may think (Pictures: Getty)

Sometimes it feels like the same names in Hollywood have been around since the dawn of time.

Films and TV programmes come and go, but the same faces grace our screens as they climb from one incredible role to another.

But in fact, some of these high-flyers have barely entered their thirties while snatching major awards and juggling multiple projects.

From Margot Robbie to Macaulay Culkin, Tobey Maguire, and Keira Knightley, none of these stars have even hit their fifties before becoming a household name.

Here, we look at 11 stars who seem to have been in showbusiness for decades – when in reality, our memory is playing tricks on us.

Seth Rogen

The Freaks and Geeks star has many strings on his bow (Picture: Gregg Deguire/Variety via Getty Images)

Seth Rogen is 42 years old, and in that time he has racked up more than 100 acting roles, 28 writing credits, and acted as a producer on 43 projects so far.

The Pineapple Express star burst onto our screens in 2001 with a minor role in sci-fi horror Donnie Darko, before landing parts in the likes of Knocked Up, Funny People, and This Is The End.

Aside from the world of film, Rogen co-developed hit AMC series Preacher as well as the superhero Prime Video series, The Boys.

This is without mentioning his voice roles in animated films such as Shrek the Third, the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and Sausage Party, which he also co-wrote and produced.

He ventured into directing in 2011 with an adaptation of The Green Hornet starring Rogen, Christoph Waltz, Cameron Diaz, Jay Chou, and David Harbour.

What’s more, he also penned his first book, Yearbook, in 2021, and has spent many years involved in activism for LGBTQ+ rights, Alzheimer’s disease, and more.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence has dedicated her career to helping others as well as starring in award-winning films (Picture: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

Jennifer Lawrence has become a beloved film icon at just 33 years old after winning hearts with roles in The Hunger Games, X Men: First Class, and Passengers.

And the Hollywood icon is going to need an enormous mantelpiece to hold all 121 of her award wins – including an Academy Award for best actress in Silver Linings Playbook, a role much more mature than her actual age which may add to confusion over her career length.

The Don’t Look Up star had her first role in 2007 on The Bill Engvall Show before making her film debut the following year with a supporting role in Garden Party.

She rose to fame as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film series, which saw her become the highest-grossing action heroine. She also became the world’s highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016.

Away from the big screen, Lawrence is a feminist and has lent her platform to advocating for women’s reproductive rights as well as many other charitable organisations

In 2015, she founded the Jennifer Lawrence Foundation to support the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Special Olympics.

She then formed the production company Excellent Cadaver in 2018, and in the same year, she collaborated with 300 women in Hollywood to set up the Time’s Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination.

Kate Winslet

She bagged her first major award as a teenager (Picture: Gisela Schober/Getty Images)

In just 48 years, Kate Winslet has nabbed an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, five BAFTA Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.

In 2012, she was even appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

At the young age of 15, she appeared in the TV series Dark Season, before making her film debut in 1994 in Heavenly Creatures.

Winslet was 19 when she won a BAFTA Award for her role in Sense and Sensibility, and 21 when she received global acclaim in James Cameron’s Titanic.

Since then she has starred in the likes of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, Revolutionary Road, and The Reader.

The actor has also turned her attention to singing, performing What If for the soundtrack of her own film Christmas Carol: The Movie in 2001.

She has voiced audiobooks, written her own books, and supported several charitable organisations across the decades, including founding the Golden Hat Foundation to raise awareness of autism.

Keira Knightley

From child star to adult icon (Picture: Noam Galai/Getty Imagesfor 20th Century Studios)

Keira Knightley OBE, 39, is known for her many roles in well-known blockbusters which has earned her nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, and a Laurence Olivier Award.

She began her career at just six years old starring in commercials and small TV roles before she appeared in 1993 TV series Screen One.

After starring in a number of TV films, she landed the role of Sabé, Padmé Amidala’s handmaiden and decoy, in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

Her breakthrough role came in 2002 when she starred in Bend It Like Beckham, going on to appear in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as Elizabeth Swann, which brought her worldwide acclaim.

Knightley has turned her attention to stage work, independent films, philanthropy, and even politics as she signed a letter imploring Britain to vote ‘remain’ in the UK EU referendum.

She is also the face of an Amnesty International campaign to support human rights.

Hilary Duff

She’s a teen icon, award-winning musician, and a businesswoman (Picture: Leon Bennett/FilmMagic)

Teenage lives were changed when The Lizzie McGuire Show, starring Hilary Duff, hit our screens.

The 36-year-old became a teen idol as the titular character in the Disney hit, as well as the Lizzie McGuire Movie in 2003.

From then, she went on to star in Cheaper By The Dozen, A Cinderella Story, and Agent Cody Banks as well as TV shows How I Met Your Father and Younger.

In 2002, she released her debut album Santa Clause Lane, followed a year later by Metamorphosis – which was certified Platinum four times.

Outside of her screenwork, Duff is a New York Times bestselling author for her trilogy of novels Elixir, Devoted, and True.

Her entertainment success led her into the world of business, launching fashion likes with brands such as DKNY and GlassesUSA.

Tobey Maguire

He’s not just famous for Spider-Man (Picture: Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

Tobey Maguire is soon set to turn 50 years old, and he has achieved more than most in half a century.

He is best known for starring in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy as the titular hero, later reprising his role in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The Cider House Rules star began his career back in 1993 with a role in This Boy’s Life, later landing parts in Pleasantville, Good German, Brothers, and The Great Gatsby alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.

He received a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a motion picture drama for Brothers.

In 2012, the actor turned his attention to producing and launched his own production company, Material Pictures, co-producing Good People, Pawn Sacrifice, and Babylon.

He is also a tournament poker player, appearing ESPN’s coverage of the 2005, 2006, and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship.

Drew Barrymore

Is there anything she can’t do? (Picture: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

Also set to turn 50 very soon is Drew Barrymore, who has gone from child star to global icon in 49 years.

As a member of the Barrymore family of actors, she achieved fame as a child actor in sci-fi blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

She landed a number of roles in huge films throughout the 1990s and 2000s including Batman Forever, Scream, Charlie’s Angels, Donnie Darko, and The Wedding Singer.

Despite going through her teenage years, battling with drug and alcohol abuse, she went on to win several awards including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

She now hosts her own talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, and founded the production company Flower Films.

Barrymore released the New York Times bestselling photobook Find It in Everything, which contained photos she had taken, and her business ventures cover everything from homeware to clothing and wine.

She received a coveted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.

Margot Robbie

Her production company is behind some of the film world’s buzziest titles – when she’s not on the big screen herself (Picture: Jesse Grant/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)

At 34, Barbie star Margot Robbie has already conquered Hollywood thanks to her role in Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking flick – but that’s not all.

The actor, who is currently expecting her first child, began her career only 16 years ago in the legendary Australian soap Neighbours, in 2008.

Robbie fronted TV series Pan Am before her breakthrough role in The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.

She received critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Tonya Harding biopic I, Tonya in 2017 before receiving further critical acclaim for Mary Queen of Scots, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Bombshell.

In fact, she has to date received nominations for three Academy Awards, six BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.

The actor, alongside her filmmaker husband Tom Ackerley, founded the production company LuckyChap Entertainment in 2014, producing the likes of Promising Young Woman, Barbie, Saltburn, and I, Tonya.

Macaulay Culkin

He’s far from just the Home Alone kid now (Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Macaulay Culkin has lived through more than most at just 43 and came out the other side a Hollywood icon.

The child star first came to public prominence as Kevin McCallister in the Christmas classic Home Alone, becoming one of the most successful child actors of the 90s landing roles in My Girl, The Nutcracker, The Pagemaster, and Richie Rich.

His young years were plagued with drug addiction and he previously explained to Esquire that he feels he has ‘outgrown’ substances, and insists he never went to rehab to become sober.

He took a break from acting from 1995 to 2003, returning to roles in Will and Grace, Party Monster, and American Horror Story.

He wrote his autobiography, Junior, in 2006, and is currently the CEO of Bunny Ears, a satirical pop culture website and podcast.

Culkin even had a spell in comedy rock band Pizza Underground as their vocalist before their split in 2016.

In 2023, he was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson

And there are still some huge projects for Aaron Taylor-Johnson on the horizon (Picture: Pablo Cuadra/WireImage)

Even if Aaron Taylor-Johnson is not the next James Bond as rumours suggest, he has achieved an awful lot in the last 34 years.

He burst onto our screens at age 13 in Shanghai Knights before landing roles in The Illusionist and Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging.

In 2008, he stole the show in John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy – directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, who he would go on to marry in 2012.

He starred in 2010 superhero flick Kick-Ass which garnered critical acclaim, followed by Anna Karenina alongside Keira Knightley, Godzilla, and Nocturnal Animals which won him a Golden Globe.

On top of this, he has also starred in Tenet, Bullet Train, and The Fall Guy which all received numerous rave reviews.

In the future, he is also set to star in Robert Eggers’ adaptation of Nosferatu, Marvel film Kraven the Hunter, and 28 Days Later sequel 28 Years Later.

John Boyega

John Boyega is still on the rise after his incredible debut (Picture: Unique Nicole/WireImage)

After appearing in small theatre roles throughout his childhood, John Boyega, 32, had his breakout screen role in 2011 sci-fi horror Attack the Block.

And the rest is history as the Hollywood star went on to appear in the Star Wars franchise as Finn in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker.

This role also saw him appear in numerous video games as well as some theme park attractions including Disneyland favourites Star Tours – The Adventures Continue and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

He went on to star in hit series Red, White, and Blue as well as acclaimed films The Woman King, They Cloned Tyrone, and Small Axe for which he won a Golden Globe.

In 2016, he was awarded the Bafta Rising Star as well as the the Trophée Chopard at the Cannes Film Festival.

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