It’s been more than two decades since Love Actually graced our screens, yet each year people tune in to the classic to watch Hugh Grant dance through 10 Downing Street and utter the famous line “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around”.
Set in snowy London, the film follows nine different storylines featuring an all-star cast including Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson and Colin Firth.
With a plethora of plot lines and a star studded cast, there’s no wonder it is one of Britain’s best loved Christmas films, but what are they all doing now?
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Hugh Grant
In the film, Grant manages to pull off a role many politicians would envy, as David the Prime Minister is a character loved all across the UK.
Whether it’s the dance ensemble to Jump (For My Love) by The Pointer Sisters or his romance with Martine McCutcheon’s character Natalie, Grant’s memorable performance bagged him more rom-com roles in the years that followed.
The Notting Hill actor went on to star in the 2007 film Music & Lyrics alongside Drew Barrymore and returned as the nutorious Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), with Cleaver’s character revival hitting screens in the new year for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.
And the actor’s not just stuck to romance.
Grant, now 64, featured as an Oompa-Loompa in Paul King’s hit film Wonka (2023), played Fletcher in the 2019 film The Gentlemen and recently starred in the 2024 American horror film Heretic.
Away from the Screen, Grant married Television producer Anna Ebertstein in 2018 and the couple share three children, John Mungo, 12, Lulu, 8, and Blue, 6.
Dame Emma Thompson
Starring as the Prime minister’s sister, Emma Thompson played Karen, a mother of two, who finds out on Christmas Eve that her husband (Alan Rickman) is having an affair with his co-worker.
After finding an expensive necklace in her husband’s coat pocket, Karen assumes the gift is for her and then is left heartbroken when instead she is gifted a Joni Mitchell CD, providing an iconic scene as she cries to Mitchell’s Both Sides Now.
Since the film, Thompson, now 65, starred as a magical nanny in the 2005 children’s film Nanny Mcphee, returning for the sequel Nanny Mcphee Returns in 2010.
She also has had a notable role in the cult franchise Harry Potter, playing Professor Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).
Most recently, she starred as Miss Trunchbull in Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (2022).
Keira Knightley
At just 17 when she played Juliet, a newlywed who discovers her groom’s best friend is in love with her, Keira Knightley has gone on to play a range of impressive roles.
Off the back of Love actually she starred alongside Matthew Macfadyen in the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and continued the romance films with Atonement (2007) and Anna Karenina (2012).
Knightley, now 39, also featured in the Academy Award winning screenplay The Imitation Game (2014), which tells the story of Alan Turing and a group of mathematicians as they invent the enigma machine during World War ii.
Since the film, she has gone on to marry British Musician James Righton, and the couple share two daughters, Edie, 9, and Delilah, 5.
Liam Neeson
In the film, Liam Neeson plays a recently widowed stepfather Daniel who tries to help his young stepson Sam (Thomas Brodie Sangster) with his school crush.
The heartwarming storyline has Neeson’s character navigating his grief whilst learning all about caring for a 10-year-old boy and the challenges that can arise with that.
Neeson, now 72, has since gone on to star in notable roles, with his most recognisable being Brian Mills in the 2008 film Taken, which follows a former CIA operative’s attempt to save his daughter from human traffickers.
He also featured in the 2005 blockbuster Batman Begins as well as the 2014 comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West.
In his personal life, Neeson faced heartbreak in 2009 when his late wife, actress Natasha Richardson, died following a skiiing accident at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant, and has been open about not dating since.
Thomas Brodie Sangster
At just 13 when he played the adorable Sam, Thomas Brodie-Sangster provided one of the movie’s most iconic scenes when he ran through Heathrow Airport to talk to his love interest Joanna (Olivia Olson).
The actor has since developed as impressive list of roles, starring in the Maze Runner trilogy as the character Newt, and appearing in the hit show Game of Thrones as Jojen Reed. He also appeared in Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit (2020) alongside Anya Taylor-Joy.
Now 34-years-old, Brodie-Sangster married English actress Talulah Riley in June 2024.
Martine McCutcheon
In the film, Martine played potty-mouthed Natalie, a bubbly member of the Prime Minister’s staff who ends up falling in love with Hugh Grant’s character.
McCutcheon, now 48, began her career on Eastenders as Tiffany Mitchell in the 90s, and following the success of Love Actually, had roles in the 2007 film Jump! starring Patrick Swayze and the 2018 comedy film The Bromley Boys.
The actress and singer sparked headlines earlier this year when she announced that her and her husband, singer-songwriter Jack McManus, were separating after 18 years together.
Colin Firth
In Love Actually Colin Firth played Jamie Bennett who falls in love with his Portuguese housekeeper Aurélia. Despite not sharing a common language, a mutual attraction grows. The film sees Jamie learn Portuguese and eventually declare his love and propose.
Since appearing in Love Actually, Firth’s career has continued to grow and he is regarded as one of the greatest British actors of all time.
He has appeared in dozens of films since 2003, including Mamma Mia, A Single Man, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Magic in the Moonlight, Kingsman, and Operation Mincemeat.
He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of King George VI in the historical drama The King’s Speech in 2010, and was nominated a year earlier for his role in A Single Man.
Firth, now 64, married Livia Giuggioli in 1996, but the couple divorced in 2021. They have two sons
Firth was a vocal opponent of Brexit and has dual British and Italian citizenship.
Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman played Harry, who is seen buying an expensive necklace for his secretary Mia behind his wife’s back (played by Emma Thompson). After she finds out he admits he has been foolish. Oh dear.
Rickman was already an established actor when he appeared in Love Actually and continued to star in films afterwards. Notable credits after 2003 include the Harry Potter films, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Alice in Wonderland (2010).
In August 2015, Rickman had a minor stroke, which led to a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He revealed that he had terminal cancer. He kept news of his illness private and died just months later on 14 January 2016, aged 69.
In 2009, The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.
Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln appear as Mark in Love Actually – a role that has certainly divided opinion. It sees the character fall in love with his best friend’s fiance Juliet (and later wife), played by Kiera Knightly. As well as filming a rather weird wedding video, he also ends up on their doorstep professing his love to Juliet using a series of cue cards – before she gives him a quick kiss.
Lincoln, now 51. was a household name in the UK before Love Actually after his role in Teachers. However it was after starring in the film that he would go on to become a global TV star.
From 2010 to 2022, he starred as the lead character Rick Grimes in AMC’s post-apocalyptic horror drama The Walking Dead. The show sees Lincoln battling zombies as he and his friends and loved ones try to survive. He appeared in 111 episodes and returned to the franchise in 2024 for the spinoff The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
He married Gael Anderson in 2006, and the couple have two children.
