Top 5 - Actors aging gracefully

Getting older in Hollywood doesn’t have to mean embracing freakish plastic surgery or hiding under gauzy filters.

Some actors simply have good DNA. Others embrace their wrinkles and gray hair, something much easier said than done under the paparazi microscope.

Here’s five actors who have stood tall despite their years, both physically and in their film selections.

1. Clint Eastwood: Dirty Harry is no more, but Eastwood has proven timeless both in front of and behind the camera. He’s 78, and this fall he has not one but two films coming out which he directed — “Changeling” and “Gran Torino.” Hope he never stops making our day.
2. Dame Judi Dench: Was that sexual tension I spotted during her scenes with Daniel Craig in “Casino Royale?” Dench still brings the acting gravitas and attitude.
3. Morgan Freeman: An obvious choice. His steely screen presence hasn’t aged a second.
4. Meryl Streep: Shouldn’t she be a relic of the ’80s? Nope. Too smart, too talented. And she’s still headlining movies in her 50s and romancing Pierce Brosnan to boot.
5. Susan Sarandon: Yes, her politics make my teeth hurt, but she’s still beautiful and routinely works in standout projects (”Enchanted,” the upcoming “Lovely Bones”).

UPDATE: A sharp reader takes me to task for leaving out Helen Mirren. I’ll blame DNC Overload Syndrome for the mistake. She should be at or near the top of my list. Apologies, my Queen.

(Photo: Clint Eastwood gives Hilary Swank some boxing tips in “Million Dollar Baby”)