Famke Janssen has spoken out following Russell Crowe's claims that there are plenty of movie roles for the older woman.
The 50-year-old insisted that there are still too few films in which older women take on the role.
Speaking about the view which came from Russell that actresses who complain about a lack of roles their age are ones still trying to play 21 year olds, Famke said: "That's interesting. I don't remember him being female.
"When you compare it to the 1920s and 30s it's a shame what's happened since then. That was the golden age for women in film. They were allowed to be smart, funny, quirky, dramatic, whatever, you name it ... that's clearly not the case anymore."
She went on to say she believes Hollywood has gone backwards and forced females into supporting roles rather than letting them be the lead.
"If you look per movie the number of male parts and female parts - and I know because I even directed one myself ['Bringing Up Bobby] and put a female [Mila Jovovich] in the lead. It's really rare [for women to take the lead]."
Whilst she is unimpressed by the state of the industry, she believes that television is increasingly better in being fair to females.
According to Us Weekly she said: "The good news is it's changing and it's changing largely because a lot of the shows ... are turning to women for female-driven storylines and plots. I think that's a really great departure from where we are."
Her comments come after Jessica Chastain also criticised Russell's comments, though she did think he had been misunderstood.
Tagged in Famke Janssen Russell Crowe Jessica Chastain