Vote up the soldier castings that aren't fooling anyone.
When it comes to Hollywood films, and especially films based on historical events, actors are often cast based on whether they're a good fit for a role - and not because they're a similar age to the real life subjects. Movies about war seem to be one of the biggest culprits; soldiers are often portrayed by much older actors than the actual soldiers in those wars. Even when the soldier isn't based on a specific person, their apparent age misrepresents the average soldiers in the wars they are fighting in.
Have you ever found yourself looking at an aging George Clooney or Matthew McConaughey valiantly fighting on a battlefield and thought about how old the actual soldiers of World War I or the Civil War really were? Knowing what the real soldiers' ages were, the ages of actors in war movies may make some of these seemingly accurate films a little less factual.
Morgan Freeman did not portray a specific real person in history, but his character was instead fictionalized for the film. Still, Freeman was nearly 30 years older than the average age of soldiers during the Civil War.
Robert Duvall's character Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (as well as Marlon Brando's Colonel Kurtz) was based on Colonel David Hackworth. While Hackworth was approximately 30 years old during the Vietnam War, Duvall was almost 20 years older than that during the film.
While not based on a singular person, Brad Pitt's "Wardaddy" character was inspired by a compilation of real veteran stories. Though his character was fictionalized, that doesn't make his 25 year age difference from the average WWII soldier completely forgivable.
There is some online speculation whether Tom Berenger's character Sergeant Barnes was based on someone real. Without additional information, it's assumed Barnes is purely fictitious. Nonetheless, Berenger was 15 years older than the average age of soldiers in the Vietnam War.
Robert De Niro's character Michael was created for the film. Regardless, De Niro at the time of filming was 13 years older than the average soldier in Vietnam.
While a generally fictionalized character, Tom Hardy's Farrier is said to closely resemble real-life Al Deere. While the acts of valor may be replicated, Hardy was 17 years Deere's senior, making that a little less realistic than the rest.