Russell Crowe: Mature Women In Hollywood Should Act Their Age; Shouldn't Think They're Still 21

Russell Crowe, recently, made a strong comment on the undying issue of sexism in Hollywood particularly on the lack of roles for actresses in their 40s and 50s saying that they should act their age.

The 50-year old actor made the statement in an interview with The Australian Women's Weekly while promoting his new film, The Water Diviner, currently said to have reaped a lot of good reviews from Australia.

"The best thing about the industry I'm in - movies - is that there are roles for people in all different stages of life. To be honest, I think you'll find that the woman who is saying that (the roles have dried up) is the woman who at 40, 45, 48, still wants to play the ingénue, and can't understand why she's not being cast as the 21 year old," the award-winning actor said in the interview.

The Gladiator actor further cited the success of two seasoned actresses in Hollywood, Meryl Streep and Dame Helen Mirren, who still have projects and have 'learned to live in their own skin' in show business.

On the other hand, the Telegraph UKreports that Dame Helen Mirren once admitted in a ceremony, that sexism in Hollywood exists and that the roles for actresses will inevitably dry up as they grow older,

"I've seen too many of my brilliant colleagues, who work non-stop in their 20s, their 30s, and their 40s, only to find a complete desert in their 50s, and no work means no income."

She further said, " I resent having witnessed in my life the survival of some very mediocre male actors and the professional demise of some very brilliant female ones."

Meanwhile, Huffington Post reported that Russell Crowe's harsh words have met a lot of sarcastic headlines from online news outlets like Jezebel with its headline saying Always Full of Shit Russell Crowe Says Actresses Should Act Their Age and Here's Everything Russell Crowe Got Wrong About Women In Film, a headline from Australian site Junkee.

CBC News also quoted tweets and rants from feminist blogs slamming Crowe's statement.

"As we enter the bright potential of a new year, let us hope that Russell Crowe has finally resolved to shut up," one tweet said.