Romance Movies
7 ‘The Age of Adaline’ Movie Secrets That Will Surprise You
While the world has been talking about It Ends With Us (in various ways) since its premiere in August 2024, the romantic drama wasn’t Blake Lively‘s first foray into the genre. The Gossip Girl alum’s first romantic drama was actually The Age of Adaline, which hit theaters a decade ago on April 24, 2015. (You can watch The Age of Adaline now with a Peacock subscription.)
The film follows Adaline Bowman, a woman who has mysteriously stayed 29 for nearly 100 years. Adaline has kept everyone around her at arm’s length, even her family, in order to protect her secret. When Adaline meets the charming Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman), she opens up her heart for the first time in decades. When she goes back to Ellis’ family home to meet his parents (Harrison Ford and Kathy Baker), Adaline’s past catches up to her in a way she never anticipated.
Over the years, The Age of Adaline has become a fan favorite for romance fans, but the behind-the-scenes secrets are just as fascinating as the love stories in the film. Swooon has assembled seven key facts about The Age of Adaline that’ll give you new insight into the movie.
Diyah Pera / Lionsgate / Everett Collection
1. Katherine Heigl was initially cast as Adaline.
Even though the movie wasn’t released until 2015, Katherine Heigl was cast as the title role all the way back in 2010. A few months after the announcement, the Grey’s Anatomy star left the project because she had recently adopted her daughter. Angela Lansbury was initially cast to play Flemming, Adaline’s daughter, but Ellen Burstyn ultimately played the role.
2. Natalie Portman turned down the role of Adaline.
Nearly a year after Heigl’s exit, Natalie Portman was offered the role of Adaline. Her rep later told Entertainment Weekly that the actress was turning down the role. In 2013, Blake Lively joined the film to play Adaline. Lively was just off her six-season run on Gossip Girl.
3. Blake Lively was pregnant while shooting The Age of Adaline.
During the film’s production in 2014, Lively found out she was pregnant with her first child, James. The actress told Los Angeles Daily News that she was “nauseous” while filming because of her pregnancy. “Crashing into a pond and then crawling up the bank, that was tough,” she admitted.
Lively married Ryan Reynolds in 2012. They now have four children.
4. An unreleased Lana Del Rey song was featured in The Age of Adaline trailer.
Lana Del Rey‘s song “Life Is Beautiful” was used in a trailer for The Age of Adaline. While many fans assumed a full-length version of the track would be released with the movie’s soundtrack, the song remains unreleased to this day.
Diyah Pera / Lionsgate / Everett Collection
5. Anthony Ingruber was discovered online.
Since Adaline falls for the younger version of Harrison Ford’s character, William, in the 1960s, the film needed an actor to play young William. Director Lee Toland Krieger found Anthony Ingruber online during the casting process. Ingruber notably went viral for his impersonation of Ford before he was cast. No ADR was used with young William. Ingruber went on to serve as a body double for Ford on Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny.
6. The Age of Adaline’s narrator is a well-known editor.
Hugh Ross served as the narrator of The Age of Adaline. The voice-over artist was also the narrator on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. For years, Ross has worked as an editor for a number of TV shows, including Ghosts, Platonic, New Girl, and more.
7. The director cut one of his favorite scenes.
The Age of Adaline director explained to Collider that he cut a scene where Adaline had a gas leak at her apartment. The cops and fire department showed up and spotted fake IDs on her table, which put Adaline under even more scrutiny. “I loved this scene. I really did. I loved the way it was shot,” Krieger said.
He added, “It’s one of those where, again, you have to be prepared to cut some of your favorite scenes because at a certain point, the movie will dictate what should and shouldn’t be in the film. It was just one of those things where, as much as I liked it, it was interrupting the flow of the love story between Blake and Michiel, which was paramount to this B-story of her life on the run.” However, he made sure to note that the deleted scene was on the DVD!
