Love Actually is one of those classic Christmas movies that was never meant to be considered a Christmas movie. It’s in good company with other similar titles like Die Hard, but is a very different film.
The 2003 British romantic comedy has a star-studded cast with some actors who didn’t actually hit it big in Hollywood until long after the film was released. The ensemble cast includes recognizable names like the late Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Martin Freeman, Andrew Lincoln, Laura Linney, and Rowan Atkinson.
It follows several different stories of different people experiencing love in its many forms, including the loss of love, young love, unrequited and forbidden love, new love, and non-romantic love. While it got mixed reviews, it was a box office success and continues to be on many must-watch lists around the holidays. But I bet you didn’t know these 10 interesting factors about the making of the movie.
Both Keira Knightley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster Were Teenagers
Brodie-Sangster played as Liam Neeson’s character’s young son Sam in the film who had his eye on a particular girl at school named Joanna (Olivia Olson). At the time, he was just 13. But he wasn’t the only teenager: Knightley, who played Juliet, was just 17 or 18!
It’s hard to believe that only five years separate these two young actors. Knightley, now 34, went on to have a very successful movie career, appearing in films like Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride & Prejudice, and Anna Karenina, and has even been nominated for two Oscars. Meanwhile, Brodie-Sangster is now 29, and is most recognizable of late for his role as Jojen Reed in Game of Thrones.
Hugh Grant Hated Filming That Dancing Scene
As a British actor who typically portrays straight and narrow men who are funny but not silly, it’s no surprise that Grant was not pleased to have to do that scene where he dances in his office and down the stairs like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. He noted that he was more concerned that doing the scene would not make his character a believable Prime Minister.
Unfortunately, whether he protested or not, he lost the battle and had to do it. And it ended up being one of the funniest and most memorable scenes in the film.
Keira Knightley Was Covering a Zit
Remember the scene when Andrew Lincoln’s character Mark meets with Juliet and she discovers by going through footage he shot of her wedding that he was secretly pining for her? (His friend’s wife, by the way.) In it, Juliet is donning a super-cute newsboy hat.
Well, it turns out this wasn’t a decision by the costumes department. Knightley reveals that she wore it to cover a huge zit that had formed in the middle of her forehead. Such is life for a teenage actor.
Colin Firth’s Kiss Was Choreographed
We hope this doesn’t ruin the movie for you, but that totally romantic first kiss between Colin Firth’s character Jamie and Aurelia (Lucia Moniz) was completely choreographed. Right down to the move when Jamie puts his thumb on her lip before he goes in for some lip-on-lip action.
In the movie, Aurelia, who doesn’t speak much English, starts out as his housekeeper in a home he’s renting abroad to try and write his next novel. But they quickly fall in love, despite the language barrier.
That “To Me, You Are Perfect” Scene Almost Didn’t Happen
Creating a perfect meme before memes were a thing on the Internet. That scene when Mark shows up to quietly profess his unrequited love to Juliet (unbeknownst to his best friend who’s chilling on the couch upstairs) almost didn’t happen.
In the scene, Mark (who’s a far cry from Lincoln’s most notable role of Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead) holds up various signboards with sweet messages. And that’s one of them. Thankfully, after mulling over several other options, they decided to go with the Bob Dylan signs. Whew! The movie would not have been the same without them!
Billy Bob Thornton Was Scared Of A Photo
Yes, he was in the movie, too. Billy Bob Thornton, who played The U.S. President in the film, is known for having OCD as well as phobias of very specific things like antique furniture and certain types of silverware. Among the list of things that make him squeamish is photos of Benjamin Disraeli, a British politician from the 1800s, and more specifically, his facial hair.
Wouldn’t you know, it was a photo of Disraeli that was on set, located on a set of stairs in the Prime Minister’s home. He turned away from it while filming and all was fine.
Director Richard Curtis’ Kids Are In The Movie
Director Richard Curtis and his partner Emma Freud, who was one of the movie’s original script editors, managed to find a way to use their own kids in the movie. During the school Christmas concert scene, their son is wearing a Spider-Man mask. And among the many lobsters on stage, is their daughter.
It’s during that scene, by the way, that a young Olson beautifully belts out a rendition of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” further melting Sam’s heart and letting his recently-widowed dad, Daniel (Liam Neeson) see her shine.
January Jones Wrote Her Lines
A young January Jones also has a small part in the film, as Jeannie, a girl in a bar who befriends a young single Colin (Kris Marshall). She and her girlfriends, who he believes are his American Dreamgirls, are fascinated by his accent and end up having an all-night party with him, much to his delight.
Reportedly, Jones wrote many of her lines herself. Of course, we now know Jones best for playing Don Draper’s wife Betty in the hugely successful series Mad Men, a role she snagged four years later and played through the series’ entire seven-season run.
Those Airport Reunions Were Real
Remember those emotional reunions between loved ones that you see throughout the movie, particularly at the end? Well, those were all real! Production caught these special and authentic moments on camera by filming at the airport, then approaching the families and/or couples to ask for their permission to use the footage in the film.
The moments are touching even if they were contrived. But knowing that they were real, even if the people weren’t hearing The Beach Boys song “God Only Knows” in the background like we were at the same time…pass the tissues!
The Billy Mack Video is Parody Of Addicted To Love
One of the love stories in the film is that of a famous musician named Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) and his platonic love for his close friend and long time manager Joe (Gregor Fisher). Part of the movie shows his new music video for a ridiculous Christmas song called “Christmas Is All Around.” In it, a bevy of beautiful women in sexy holiday wear stand stone-faced with him as he sings the catchy tune.
The fictional song and music video was actually designed to be a parody of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” music video. Sadly, Palmer passed away the same year the movie was released.