Maggie Gyllenhaal was told she's "too old" to play lover of a 55-year-old man.

This just ridiculous.

Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal is 37.

And apparently, being 37 makes Maggie “too old” to play the love interest of a 55-year-old man.

In an interview with The Wrap, the Oscar nominee said she was surprised and disappointed.

“I’m 37 and I was told recently I was too old to play the lover of a man who was 55. It was astonishing to me,” she told The Wrap.

“It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh.”

Related: This is why it matters how old Rebel Wilson is.

It’s great that she can see the humour in it, but it’s just another indictment of an industry that fails to represent women fairly, both on-screen and behind the camera.

Casting younger women as the romantic foil for much older men is par for the course in Hollywood.

In 1954, a 25-year-old Audrey Hepburn (who looked even younger than that) played the love interest of Humphrey Bogart – who was 30 years her senior – in Sabrina.

In the recent Silver Linings Playbook, a then 21-year-old Jennifer Lawrence was paired with the then 38-year-old Bradley Cooper.

Gyllenhaal’s story comes at a time when Hollywood is under more scrutiny than ever for its sexism and ageism.

Watch Amy Schumer’s hilarious take on Hollywood’s treatment of older women, below.

The Wrap reports that San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found there are fewer jobs for leading actresses – because female characters make up only 12 per cent of protagonists in the 100 top-grossing films of 2014.

The American Civil Liberties Union recently asked for a federal investigation into the failure of movie studios to hire female directors, citing “rampant discrimination.”

Despite her experiences, Gyllenhaal isn’t fazed.

“A lot of actresses are doing incredible work right now, playing real women, complicated women,” she told The Wrap.

“I don’t feel despairing at all. And I’m more looking with hope for something fascinating.”

Read more about Hollywood’s sexism…

The real reason Rebel Wilson lied about her age.

Salma Hayek has some kick-arse ideas about tackling sexism in Hollywood.

And this is why Jennifer Garner should be mayor of Hollywood.