Regardless of actual ages, Whitaker still looks like he's in his mid- to late 30s to me, while Ives seemed to ALWAYS look to be at least 60 years old -- maybe it's the girth and the white beard, but he looks old enough to be Whitaker's father.
Maybe it's that old thing about people just used to look older a generation or two ago than they do today. Lots of 40-something actors (Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt) still look like kids compared to actors like William Holden and Humphrey Bogart who even in their earliest films looked middle-aged (or at least were always adults and NEVER looked like kids). Compare someone like Ethel Merman to, say, Bernadette Peters. Merman looked middle aged in her 20s and when she played Rose at 51, she looked two decades older than Peters did when she played the role at 55 (but looking barely 40).
Anyway, it's a moot point now. I think Danny Glover (who's 60) would have been a better pick anyway, though if I had my druthers (and could replace Allen while I'm at it), I'd have tried to get Charles Dutton for Big Daddy. He has the age, the size, the gravitas, the fiery charisma -- talk about stage presence, he's among the greatest powerhouse performers I've ever seen on stage and he'd make an incredible Big Daddy. But theres no way in hell he'd waste his time if Debbie Allen is at the helm.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
