From “Magic Mike XXL” to “Groundhog Day,” Andie MacDowell’s acted in a diverse roster of films over the course of her decades-long career. But as the star’s gotten older, she’s noticed an influx of younger actresses being cast in middle-age roles, she told HuffPost Live in a conversation on Wednesday. It’s a trend she chalks up to moviegoers’ fear of aging.

“We’re a very strange culture … and it’s odd, because we actually have a larger amount of people in my age range, but we have a strange concept,” she explained to host Caitlyn Becker. “I think people have a fear — it’s like people’s own reflections of themselves, so they just want to focus on this youth age because they don’t even want to think about themselves getting older.”

MacDowell cited Meryl Streep as being the rare exception to this — “Nobody can compete with her. She’s a phenomenon. She’s beyond beyond!” — but the actress maintains that Hollywood’s casting issue is widespread.

“[It’s] something psychological,” she affirmed. “I think that’s a part of it. I do. [Mortality is] scary.”

Watch more from Andie MacDowell’s conversation with HuffPost Live here.

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