Famke Janssen rejects Russell Crowe's comments

Countering Russell Crowe's comment that there are plenty of film roles for older women, 50-year-old actress Famke Janssen says that there are still too few films in which older women take on roles.

Crowe had recently commented that actresses who complain about a lack of roles their age are ones still trying to play 21 year olds.

To that, Janssen said: "That's interesting. I don't remember him being female."

"When you compare it to the 1920s and 1930s, 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 added, reports usmagazine.com.

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)," she said.

Her comments come after Jessica Chastain also criticised Crowe's comments, though the latter did think he had been misunderstood.