Joely Richardson, 59, reveals ‘no agent wanted to work with her’ after she turned 50 as she reflects on ageism in Hollywood

Joely Richardson has revealed that “no agent wanted to work with her” after she turned 50.

The actress, now 59, appeared on This Morning on Tuesday, where she spoke out about ageism in Hollywood.

Joely currently stars in the new Netflix drama The Gentlemen alongside Vinnie Jones and Theo James, but is also known for her roles as Julia McNamara on the FX drama series Nip/Tuck and Katherine Parr on the Showtime series The Tudors.

She told This Morning of her professional struggles after turning 50: “My agent retired quite young to be with her mother.

‘I went to look for another agent and no one wanted me. Zero people wanted a woman over 50 years old.

“So we started with small details where we could get in the door to get people to consider me for roles. Then they began to arrive.

Joely plays the mother of Theo James’ character Eddie Horniman in The Gentlemen, which follows an aristocratic family who become involved in the dark world of gangsters after discovering a secret marijuana farm on their estate.

About his character in the new series he added: “When you get older, you get smaller, more quirky roles and what I love is finding the character.

“Those three characters are a little fancy but they’re very different.”

On the show he also gave advice to This Morning presenter Ben Shephard, who turns 50 in December.

She said: “Enjoy 49, and what I will say about 50 is that 50 is something that makes you understand.” But by the time you finish that day, you will adjust and realize that you are free.

‘That’s what the last third, as I call it, of my life is about: it’s about being free. You are less worried about what people think of you. ‘What should I be doing? What is success? You just get to be yourself.

In The Gentlemen, actor Theo, 39, plays fictional lead character Eddie, who inherits “his father’s substantial estate only to discover” it is a “marijuana empire owned by the legendary Mickey Pearson.”

She stars in the series alongside the likes of Chanel Cresswell, Joely, Daniel Ings and Gaia Weiss, following the original 2019 film.

In the series, a host of unsavory characters from the British criminal underworld want a piece of Eddie’s operation.

Determined to free his family from their clutches, Eddie attempts to play the gangsters at their own game.

However, as he becomes absorbed into the world of crime, he begins to find a taste for it.

About the new production, director Guy Ritchie said: ‘The world of ‘The Gentlemen’ is a little bit mine, I’m delighted that with Netflix, Miramax and Moonage we have this opportunity to inhabit it once again.

“We’re looking forward to bringing fans back to that world, introducing them to new characters and their stories, and I’m excited to do it with this extremely talented cast.”

In addition to creating the television series adaptation, Guy also directed the first two episodes.

The 2019 film starred Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Michelle Dockery, Colin Farrell, Jeremy Strong, Henry Golding, and Hugh Grant, among many others.

It turned out to be a box office success, grossing just over $115 million against a reported budget of $22 million.

In the film version, Mickey Pearson (played by Matthew) was a drug dealer trying to sell his profitable marijuana business to a dynasty of billionaires.