Here’s what the cast of Love Actually have been up to since the movie first premiered
Colin Firth just hasn’t stopped working
The cast of Love Actually all reunited recently for the 20th anniversary of the greatest Christmas film ever. The anniversary featured interviews with Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Laura Linney and it just doesn’t get any better than that. With the movie now officially making us feel old, the cast of Love Actually have been up to a lot, with many of them being Hollywood superstars and staples in some of the greatest TV shows and movies from the past 20 years.
Get yourself a hot chocolate and turn on Jump (For My Love) by The Pointer Sisters, and have a look at what the cast of Love Actually have been up to since the movie was released:
Hugh Grant – The prime minister
Hugh Grant is a man of many talents and the only prime minister we want to run the country. Hugh Grant was already a big name in the movie world before he starred in Love Actually for his roles in Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Over the years, Hugh Grant has starred in the Guy Ritchie films The Gentlemen and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. In 2020, Hugh Grant starred in The Undoing, alongside Nicole Kidman.
Martine McCutcheon – Natalie
Martine McCutcheon played the role of Natalie, the person we all wanted to be in Love Actually. Similarly to Hugh Grant, McCutcheon was fairly established before Love Actually as she starred on EastEnders as Tiffany. McCutcheon hasn’t been in a lot of the years but has starred in The Bromley Boys, Jump! and Agatha Christie’s Marple.
Colin Firth – Jamie
Colin Firth has been a staple on our TV and movie screens over the years and he still shows no signs of slowing down. One role in particular everyone knows Colin for is in Mamma Mia as Harry Bright. He has also starred in every Kingsman film from 2014 to 2021. One movie that Colin received critical acclaim for The King’s Speech in 2010. His latest project is The Staircase, where he played the role of Michael Peterson, a real life man who killed his wife.
Lucia Moniz – Aurelia
Lucia Moniz is a Portuguese singer and actress, and she even represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996. After starring in Love Actually, she went on to star in the 2009 film Second Life and the 2013 film The Right Juice. Most recently, Lucia starred in Fatima, a film about three young shepherds in Fatima, Portugal.
Emma Thompson – Karen
We all felt for Emma Thompson and her character’s storyline in Love Actually. Just two years after Love Actually, Emma Thompson starred in dare I say, one of the best films of her career, Nanny McPhee. Since then she has starred in the Men in Black films, Last Christmas and Cruella, alongside Emma Stone. Her most recently project is Matilda the Musical, where she takes on the roll of Mrs Trunchball. Cinematic genius if you ask me!
Alan Rickman – Harry
Alan Rickman sadly passed away in 2016 and was best known for his role in the Harry Potter movies before and after Love Actually, as Snape. Rickman worked on the Alice in Wonderland movie in 2010 and also starred in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 2007.
Liam Neeson – Daniel
Liam Neeson is best known for his role in the Taken movies. Since 2008, Liam Neeson has starred in three Taken movies but he hasn’t stopped there. Neeson has also acted in the 2022 movies Memory and Blacklight. He was also in the 2005 Narnia film and A Million Ways to Die in the West in 2014.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster – Sam
Thomas Brodie-Sangster is the one British actor we can’t believe is an adult today. From 20017 to 2015, Thomas voiced the role of Ferb in Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb. He also starred alongside Dylan O’Brien in The Maze Runner movies in 2014, 2015 and 2018. In more recent years, he starred in very popular TV shows like The Queen’s Gambit, Game of Thrones and Pistol.
Olivia Olson – Joanna
If there’s one thing about Love Actually, it somehow linked every single actor together. Olivia Olson is largely known for her voice role as Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb on Disney Channel. She has mainly stuck to voice roles over the years and is also known for voicing characters in Adventure Time and The Powerpuff Girls.
Keira Knightley – Juliet
Keira Knightley was already fairly established before she starred in Love Actually, for her role in Bend It Like Beckham. After Love Actually, Knightley went on to star in Pride & Prejudice and four of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies alongside Johnny Depp. She also played the lead roles in the 2008 movie The Duchess, the 2018 movie Colette and the 2011 movie A Dangerous Method.
Chiwetel Ejiofor – Peter
Chiwetel was hardly in Love Actually but we all felt for him being completely blindsided by his best friend. Chiwetel has starred in some of the most popular movies over the years, including 12 Years a Slave, The Martian and The Lion King. In 2022, Chiwetel played the roll of Baron Mordo in Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Andrew Lincoln – Mark
Andrew Lincoln plays one of the worst characters in Love Actually, and that’s final. Over the years he has mainly starred in TV shows and a select few movies. Fans will recognise Lincoln for his role in The Walking Dead, Strike Back: Silent War and the 2022 show Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.
Laura Linney – Sarah
After Love Actually, Laura Linney starred in a string of movies including The Life of David Gale, The Nanny Diaries and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. In 2010, Laura Linney starred as the lead in The Big C, for four seasons. However, one of Linney’s most notable roles since Love Actually is in the Netflix series Ozark as Wendy Byrde.
Rodrigo Santoro – Karl
Poor Karl, he just couldn’t catch a break in Love Actually. Karl was played by Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro who has starred in the 300 movies alongside Gerard Butler. In 2012, Rodrigo played Alex in the romantic comedy What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
Martin Freeman – John
Martin Freeman deserved way more screen time on Love Actually but he has since gone on to star as the lead in A LOT of movies and TV shows. In 2010, Freeman starred alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock as John Watson. He also played the role of Bilbo baggins in The Hobbit movies in the early 2010s. Freeman is also in the Black Panther movies as as Everett K. Ross.
Joanna Page – Judy
Without a doubt, everytime you watch Love Actually you will say ‘oh my god it’s Stacey from Gavin and Stacey’, and no one could blame you. For three seasons, Joanna starred as Stacey Shipman in the iconic BBC series Gavin and Stacey, created by Ruth Jones and James Corden. In recent years, Joanna has swapped out sitcoms for docuseries type TV shows. Joanna has starred in The Pet Show, Shop Well for the Planet? and Shop Well for Less,
Bill Nighy – Billy
Bill Nighy has the hearts of us all for his role in Love Actually. Since 2003, Nighy has gone on to star in a number of different films including About Time, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. More recently, Bill Nighy played the role of Mr Williams in the 2022 movie Living.
Kris Marshall – Colin
Kris Marshall went on to star in the BBC series Death in Paradise as Humphrey Goodman and truly made his mark on television. Kris has also starred in Sanditon, Death at a Funeral and Citizen Khan.
Related stories recommended by this writer:
• Omg, the Married at First Sight UK Christmas special is out in less than two weeks
• Essex boys are officially hotter than posh boys and The White Lotus proves it
• Just everything Gemma Owen has been up to since her and Luca broke up
Featured image credit via Instagram @oliviaroseolson, @martinemccutcheon and YouTube.