In June 2025, users across social media were stunned by an alleged comparison of how two actors photographed at the same age 60 years apart had aged.
The first actor in question was Sean Connery, widely regarded as one of the greatest performers of all time and forever known
Users shared side-by-side photographs of the actors on social platforms like Threads (archived), Instagram (archived) and Facebook (archived), purporting that the actors were the same age, 34, in their respective photos.
Many people pointed out how much younger Brodie-Sangster looked in comparison to Connery despite allegedly being the same age, citing the comparison as evidence of how differently people appeared to age in the mid-20th century compared to the 2020s.
Posts claiming that Connery and Brodie-Sangster were each 34 years old when the respective photographs were taken were technically
The Connery photograph is credited to Comet Photo AG (Zürich). It was taken in Andermatt, Switzerland, according to the image database ETH Library Zurich. The image shared in the claims is actually a cropped version of the full photo, which features Connery alongside Tania Mallet, his co-star in the 1964 James Bond film "Goldfinger."
The caption for the photo read, "Sean Connery as James Bond and Tania Mallet as Tilly Masterson during '007 - Goldfinger' shooting at the gas station 'Aurora' in Andermatt."
Keen-eyed viewers will note the clothing Connery and Mallet wear in the photo matches the wardrobe of the characters in the film during a chase sequence on a mountain road in Switzerland. A clip of the scene appears on the official James Bond YouTube page.
The date provided on the photo was rendered as "11.7.1964," which according to the common European date convention of putting the day before the month would be July 11, 1964. We've reached out to ETH Library Zurich to confirm that their rendering of the date puts the day first, and will update this article if they say otherwise.
July 11 fell during principal photography for the film. According to "Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!: The Unofficial James Bond Film Companion," filming for "Goldfinger" "ended with location shooting at Andermatt in Switzerland between 7 and 11 July."
Connery was born on Aug. 25, 1930, which would technically make him 33 years old at the time of principal photography for "Goldfinger." Therefore, he was actually slightly younger than Brodie-Sangster at the time of their respective photographs.
By comparison, the photograph of Brodie-Sangster can be found in full on Getty Images. The photograph was taken during a red carpet event for "Wolf Hall: The Mirror Mirror and the Light," a BBC One television series the actor appeared in. According to Getty Images, the photo was taken Nov. 4, 2024, at BFI Southbank in London.
Brodie-Sangster was born May 16, 1990, meaning he had been 34 years old for around five months at the time of the photograph.
There are many different reasons why people of similar ages may age differently, including "environmental or lifestyle factors," according to Cleveland Clinic. One major factor is smoking, which was far more pervasive in the 20th century than it is today and may be a contributing factor to why people in older photos often seem to have aged faster.
Previously, we investigated whether a photo authentically showed an 18-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger posing with a classmate who was also 18.