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As AARP founder Ethel Percy Andrus said, “Old age is not a defeat, but a victory; not a punishment, but a privilege.” Or, as Hollywood sage Mae West put it, “You only live once, but if you

do it right, once is enough.” The movies have always been obsessed with youth and beauty. But as we get older, we realize it’s the faces with lines that reveal real character on the big

screen. Which is why we’re taking this opportunity to celebrate a group of actors who delivered some of their finest on-screen work after they received their AARP cards in the mail. We

selected stars at the peak of their power in movies that launched them to the A-list in their 50s (Colin Firth’s _The King’s Speech_, Fernanda Torres’ _I’m Still Here_), late-career triumphs

(Katharine Hepburn’s _Long Day’s Journey Into Night_, Richard Burton’s _1984_), superb comeback vehicles (Eddie Murphy’s _Dolemite Is My Name_), undersung masterpieces (Al Pacino’s _Donnie

Brasco_, Cate Blanchett’s_ Tár,_ Viola Davis’ _The Woman King_), hits that redefined a star in midlife (Liam Neeson’s _Taken_, Denzel Washington’s _The Equalizer_, Pamela Anderson’s _The

Last Showgirl_), films that took an actor to a new level of mastery (Jamie Lee Curtis’ 2018 _Halloween_, Meryl Streep’s comedy _The Devil Wears Prada_), movies that say something about aging

(Tom Cruise’s _Top Gun: Maverick_, Bruce Willis’ _Live Free or Die Hard_). Below, we present 25 great performances from stars in their 50s.    1. TOM CRUISE IN ‘TOP GUN: MAVERICK’ (2022)

Moviegoers first fell in love with Tom Cruise when he danced around in his tighty-whities at 21 in _Risky Business, _but it was _Top Gun_ (1986) that made him a bona fide A-lister at 23.

At 59, he returned to flight school for this rousing look at how the cocky young flyboy grew into an older, wiser man who still carried a few regrets. For a big-budget sequel that could’ve

just been an easy cash grab, Cruise brings one of his most iconic characters full circle, schooling the young’uns and serving up the action goods, but this time with a surprising poignancy.

    WHERE TO WATCH Jamie Lee Curtis was 59 when she returned to the “Halloween” franchise in 2018. AARP (Ryan Green/Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection) 2. JAMIE LEE CURTIS IN

‘HALLOWEEN’_ _(2018) Like Cruise, Jamie Lee Curtis was 59 when she returned to the franchise that made her a Tinseltown star. Granted, this wasn’t her first rematch against masked maniac

Michael Myers, but it’s arguably her most emotionally resonant turn as Halloween survivor Laurie Strode. Curtis shows audiences the scars that come from spending the majority of your life

looking over your shoulder in fear — and how that which doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger in the end. WHERE TO WATCH 3. COLIN FIRTH IN ‘THE KING’S SPEECH’ (2010) Colin Firth had just

celebrated his 50th birthday when _The King’s Speech_ premiered, delivering his bravura performance as Britain’s stammering King George VI, who needs to overcome his speech impairment in

order to inspire the nation that needs his leadership. Not only would _The King’s Speech_ win best picture at the Oscars, it would also earn Firth a well-deserved best actor statuette thanks

to the vulnerability he shows us beneath the royal’s stiff-upper-lip facade. WHERE TO WATCH 4. DIANE KEATON IN ‘SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE’ (2003) At 57, Diane Keaton showed audiences that

getting older isn’t a romantic death sentence, it can actually be an aphrodisiac. In this very funny rom-com, Jack Nicholson (then 66) plays a womanizer who serially dates age-inappropriate

women. Keaton plays the mother of one of them, but she’s full of such confidence, smarts and yes, sexiness, that his head gets turned. Still, this is Keaton’s show, and she gives a comic

performance that’s a master class for actors of any age.   WHERE TO WATCH At 51, Daniel Craig starred in “Knives Out,” an Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery full of delirious twists..

Liam Eisenberg (Vera Anderson/WireImage/Getty Images) 5. DANIEL CRAIG IN _‘_KNIVES OUT’ (2019) Daniel Craig became an instant household name when he took the 007 baton from Pierce Brosnan,

71. But the actor launched a more interesting chapter of his career when, at 51, he top-lined this deliriously twisty, Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery. As the Southern-fried dandy

sleuth Benoit Blanc, Craig looks like he’s having a blast not chasing supervillains around the globe for MI6. With _Knives Out_, he not only proved that there was life after Bond but that he

also had some surprises up his custom-tailored sleeve.   WHERE TO WATCH 6. RICHARD BURTON IN ‘1984' (1984) In addition to playing the role of Mr. Elizabeth Taylor (twice!), Richard

Burton was one of the finest stage actors of his hell-raising generation. As for his movies, well, the majority of them failed to live up to his talent. But in this big-screen adaptation of

George Orwell’s dystopian novel, the 58-year-old Welsh actor mustered one final powerhouse performance (the movie was released two months after his death) as O’Brien, a charismatic

authoritarian who’s as cold as dry ice.  WHERE TO WATCH 59-year old Jack Nicholson played an acerbic novelist in “As Good As It Gets” — the peak of his frisky, Cheshire cat late period.

AARP (Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection) 7. JACK NICHOLSON IN _‘_AS GOOD AS IT GETS’ (1997) Jack Nicholson was 59 when he filmed this still-terrific rom-com about a prickly, bigoted

novelist with OCD who finally manages to open up and reveal his soft, chewy center thanks to the kindness (and patience!) of a struggling single mom/waitress played by Helen Hunt (now 61,

then 34). This is Nicholson at the peak of his frisky, Cheshire cat late period. His turn is gruff and sarcastic, and also contains multitudes. _As Good as It Gets _would rightly earn the

screen legend his third acting Oscar. WHERE TO WATCH 8. MERYL STREEP IN _‘_THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA’ (2006) Meryl Streep can deliver Oscar-caliber performances in her sleep. But for some

reason, it’s her dramatic roles that get all the accolades. In this fashion-world satire, the 56-year-old Streep shows what a great comedian she can be when given the chance. As Miranda

Priestly, the imperious editor of _Runway_ magazine (not-so-loosely based on _Vogue_’s Anna Wintour, 75), Streep is perfection playing the well-dressed Queen of Mean who sends her young

assistants scurrying for cover the moment they hear the clickety-clack of her heels stepping out of the elevator.  WHERE TO WATCH