Top 10 Behind the Scenes Facts About Love Actually

As a newlywed who realizes her husband’s best friend is in love with her, Keira Knightley plays the big reveal scene in a more dressed-down look. Most notably, she arrives at Mark’s place wearing a cap in a style that was popular at the time. It turns out this was a deliberate styling choice. Apparently, on the day they were filming the scene, Knightley had a big zit smack dab in the middle of her forehead. As the actress says, the spot was so big that no cosmetic fix was going to sufficiently hide it.

Writer-director Richard Curtis has a habit of engaging his family both on camera and behind the scenes. His partner, broadcaster and writer Emma Freud, is credited on the screenplay as script editor. Their children also appear in the film as part of the unconventional nativity play. Their daughter plays one of the lobsters present at the birth of Jesus, and their son can be seen in Spider-Man makeup. Curtis’ mother-in-law, Jill Freud, even got in on the action, appearing as the Prime Minister’s housekeeper. In the same vein, Curtis named Colin Firth’s character Jamie because it’s his brother’s name. It’s heartwarming until you learn that he only did it because he thought it’d be funny to have the kids go around saying “we hate Uncle Jamie.”

Before Richard Curtis settled on making a massive ensemble piece, he was working on two different love stories. One involved a Prime Minister who falls in love with a woman on his staff. The other was a separate screenplay about a writer developing feelings for his housekeeper. Feeling stuck on both ideas, he tried a different approach. Inspired by “Pulp Fiction,” of all movies, as well as the work of Robert Altman, Curtis began working on what would eventually become “Love Actually”. He carved the best elements of both ideas and threw them into a larger story about the nature of love.

“Love Actually” manages to tell ten different but overlapping stories in just over two hours. It turns out Richard Curtis’ original script was even bigger. There were initially a total of 14 narratives. Two were dropped before they started shooting, but two were actually filmed and left on the cutting room floor. One storyline involved a same-sex relationship where the headmistress of a school could be seen caring for her terminally ill partner. Another was intended to depict a Kenyan couple sticking together through hardship. Editing the stories together was its own challenge, as the filmmakers had to completely rearrange for it to make any sense.

Rowan Atkinson’s short but hysterical appearance as Rufus, a jewelry salesman who takes wrapping very seriously, provides a bit of suspense at a pivotal moment. Wrapping the necklace Alan Rickman’s character, Harry, is secretly buying for his secretary, Rufus’s meticulousness threatens to reveal this clandestine purchase to his wife, Karen. In true “It’s a Wonderful Life” style, Rufus was originally conceived as an angel. According to Richard Curtis’ wife, the omniscient character was over-wrapping the necklace to scare Harry out of being unfaithful. Atkinson took great joy in milking the scene, doing eleven-minute takes at a time. We wouldn’t be surprised if Rickman didn’t have to do a whole lot of acting by the end of it.

One of the more depressing storylines in the film involves a graphic designer named Sarah who is in love with a colleague, Karl. Actors Laura Linney and Rodrigo Santoro communicate a lot of their characters' feelings silently. Their scenes together are full of longing, chemistry Linney credits to very real heartbreak as the two were both broken up with by their respective partners during the making of the film. There’s an extra level of realism because they leaned into their shared experience. It makes their characters’ struggle to connect while life gets in the way even more touching.

In an unforgettable and gut-wrenching scene, Emma Thompson’s character, Karen, realizes the necklace her husband bought is not for her, but for another woman. Thompson recalled her high-profile marriage to British actor and director Kenneth Branagh, whose infidelity was widely-publicized at the time. Karen’s sadness resonated with the actress, as she could recall the feeling of realization that her husband had been unfaithful. While it isn’t a 1 to 1 representation of that moment for her, Thompson was able to dig into the emotional reality as a result of having lived through a similar scenario.

In what might be “Love Actually’s” most famous and most controversial scene, Andrew Lincoln’s Mark appears at Juliet’s doorstep with a message. The scene, inspired by a Bob Dylan music video from the 1960s, has since become iconic. Instead of song lyrics, though, Mark has written out his declaration of love for his best friend’s new wife on a series of cards. Even at the time, Lincoln wondered if it didn’t make his character look like a “creepy stalker”. Still, it didn’t stop the actor from writing the cards himself instead of leaving it to the production’s art department, which does make for a nice little personal touch. Whether you think it’s dreamy, corny, or creepy, it remains the movie’s most enduring scene.

After the Prime Minister finally stands up to the arrogant American president, he’s really feeling his oats. He dances around to the song “Jump (For My Love)” in a majorly crowd-pleasing scene. Actor Hugh Grant, however, was far from pleased. Grant is famously kind of grumpy. Even friend and co-star Emma Thompson has said as much. Calling the scene a contractual obligation, Grant dreaded it so much he didn’t even rehearse the improvised dance. Not only is he responsible for that stroke of genius, he also came up with the button at the end of the scene, when his character is caught dancing by a member of staff.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Child Performer Olivia Olson Was Offered Record Deals After Her Performance in the Movie

Thomas Brodie-Sangster & Keira Knightley Were Only Five Years Apart in Age During Production

The Word “Actually” Is Used 23 Times

The Lake Colin Firth & Lúcia Moniz Jump Into Was Only 18 Inches Deep

“Love Actually” opens with the Prime Minister’s voiceover about love, played over footage of families reuniting at London’s Heathrow Airport. Richard Curtis did not stage these reunions. He dispatched a crew to hide hidden cameras, hoping to capture the very real meetings of travelers meeting their loved ones. The crew would then seek permission from the subjects to be included in the film. This documentary footage bookends the movie. It doesn’t just give the movie a fitting opening and closing. These scenes actively highlight the movie’s theme of love existing everywhere, not just on a movie screen.

Will you be rewatching “Love Actually” this holiday season? Tell us in the comments.