Of course, Love Actually came out a long time ago (18 years!) and a lot has changed since then. Some of the stars have gone on to enjoy breakout roles in other movies, while others have literally grown up on camera. Still, one thing that’s consistent is that people continue to tune in, year after year, to watch (and re-watch) Love Actually’s 10 interweaving tales of love, romance, breakups, a bad Christmas hit, and, naturally, some serious holiday spirit. Whether you’re watching Love Actually for the first time or you’ve lost track of how many times you’ve seen it, check out our rundown of what the cast of LoveActually is up to now.
What happened to the Love Actually cast?
Hugh Grant
Grant was Hollywood’s undisputed king of the rom-com and arguably the cast’s biggest star when he played David, the newly-elected British Prime Minister who ends up falling for Natalie, a junior member of the household staff at his residence. Since then, Grant has done a few more romantic comedies, but recently transitioned to meatier roles. Most recently, he starred in the HBO psychological thriller The Undoing with Nicole Kidman and Donald Sutherland, scoring an Emmy nomination for his work in the limited series.
Keira Knightley
Knightley starred in Love Actually as Juliet, a newlywed who realizes that the best man at her recent wedding is actually in love with her. After Love Actually filming wrapped, Knightley starred in huge movies like Atonement and Pride and Prejudice, along with several Pirates of the Caribbean movies. She also played Sugar Plum in Disney’s onscreen adaptation of The Nutcracker and, this holiday season, is starring in another holiday-themed comedy (albeit a much darker one) called Silent Night.
Colin Firth
Firth plays writer Jamie, who goes to Juliet and Peter’s wedding alone because his girlfriend is “sick.” He comes home before the reception to check on her, where he realizes that she’s sleeping with his brother. Jamie goes to his French cottage, where he falls in love with his Portuguese housekeeper Aurélia, who doesn’t speak English. Jamie ends up learning Portuguese after he returns home to England, then comes back to find Aurélia and proposes to her (in Portuguese). Since then, Firth has starred in more rom coms like Mamma Mia! and won an Oscar in 2010 for his performance as King George IV in The King’s Speech. More recently, he co-starred with Stanley Tucci in the romantic drama Supernova.
Liam Neeson
In Love Actually, Neeson played Daniel, a man who recently lost his wife and is trying to take care of his stepson, Sam. Daniel encourages Sam to try to impress his classmate-crush Joanna and ends up having a spark with the mom of one of Sam’s schoolmates. In real life, Neeson lost his wife, actress Natalie Richardson, in a skiing accident in 2009. He’s gone on to star in Batman Begins, the thriller series Taken, and The Lego Movie.
Bill Nighy
Nighy plays fading rock and roll legend Billy Mack, who records a Christmas-themed version of “Love Is All Around” that he thinks is pretty bad, in Love Actually. (Still, the song ends up becoming a huge holiday hit.) Nighy went on to star in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, along with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. He also played Mr. Woodhouse in 2020’s Emma.
Gregor Fisher
Fisher is Billy’s longtime manager, Joe, in Love Actually; in the movie, the two memorably skip a party hosted by Elton John to get drunk and watch porn together. Fisher went on to appear in The Merchant of Venice along with a slew of shows that were big in the U.K. Gregor published his autobiography, The Boy from Nowhere, in 2015.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Ejiofor plays Peter, Juliet’s husband, in Love Actually, but the actor found even greater success when he earned an Oscar nomination for his leading role in 12 Years a Slave. He also co-starred in The Martian and the 2019 remake of The Lion King.
Andrew Lincoln
Lincoln ends up having what might be Love Actually’s most memorable (and memed) scene, where he plays Christmas music on a boombox while telling Juliet he loves her with help from a set of cue cards. Lincoln has appeared in a bunch of projects since Love Actually, but he’s gained the most fame for playing one of the main characters in the AMC post-apocalyptic TV series The Walking Dead.
Alan Rickman
Rickman played Harry, the managing director at a design agency who falls for his new secretary, Mia, in Love Actually. A highly respected character actor throughout his career, Alan also starred in the Harry Potter series as Severus Snape and was Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Sadly, he died of pancreatic cancer in 2016.
Emma Thompson
Thompson stars as happily married stay-at-home mom Karen, who discovers that her husband Mark gave an expensive necklace to someone else on Christmas. At the end of the movie, Karen and Mark are still together, but their relationship looks pretty strained. Like Rickman, Thompson has also starred in the Harry Potter series, and a slew of other big movies, including Nanny McPhee, Men in Black 3, Beauty and the Beast and, most recently, Cruella alongside another A-list Emma, Emma Stone.
Sienna Guillory
Guillory portrayed Jamie’s girlfriend (who was sleeping with his brother) in Love Actually. A former model, she was later cast as Jill Valentine in Resident Evil: Apocalypse and did a slew of TV shows and movies. She most recently appeared in Clifford the Big Red Dog as Maggie.
Rowan Atkinson
Atkinson had a few seemingly random onscreen moments in Love Actually as Rufus, the jewelry salesman, who almost got Mark caught buying an expensive necklace for Mia. He later distracted airport staff to let Sam to sneak through to see his class crush, Joanna. Atkinson—a huge star in British films, including the Mr. Bean series—received the honorary title of Commander of the British Empire in 2013.
Laura Linney
Linney plays Sarah, an American who works at Harry’s graphic design company. She’s been in love with Karl, the creative director, for years—and it looks like something will finally happen between them until her brother Michael calls, needing help. Linney has had a slew of big roles since then: She earned her second Oscar nomination in 2004 for Kinsey and her third in 2007 for The Savages; she’s also won four Emmys, including one for her lead role as Cathy Jamison on The Big C. She currently stars in Netflix’s Ozark alongside JasonBateman.
Rodrigo Santoro
In Love Actually, Santoro plays Karl, the creative director at Harry’s graphic design company, who almost hooks up with Sarah. The two end up working late on Christmas Eve, but Karl just wishes Sarah a Merry Christmas before leaving. Since Love Actually, Rodrigo has starred in a bunch of big movies and shows, including 300, Westworld, and Lost.
Olivia Olson
Since playing Joanna, Sam’s American classmate that he has a crush on, Olson has done a lot of voice work since then, personifying characters in Phineas and Ferb, Adventure Time, and Fast & Furious: Spy Racers.
Martin Freeman
Martin portrayed John, a professional stand-in for a movie where he has to do an awkward sex scene with Judy (who he sparks with on the set) in Love Actually. Martin went on to star in The Hobbit movie trilogy, Fargo, Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther.
Joanna Page
Page plays Judy, the movie stand-in who has to simulate sex with John on set, in Love Actually. Page has starred in a lot of British TV series since then, but most recently appeared in the 2020 movie, Dolittle.
Thomas Sangster
After portraying Sam, Daniel’s stepson, in Love Actually, Sangster has also appeared in Game of Thrones, the Maze Runner series and Nowhere Boy. He most recently played Benny Watts in The Queen’s Gambit, and picked up an Emmy nomination in the process.
Martine McCutcheon
McCutcheon plays Natalie, the member of the household staff who falls in love with the prime minister, David. Natalie later writes a Christmas card to David declaring her love for him, and the two are later caught kissing onstage at the Christmas pageant. Martine had a pop music career before Love Actually, and she released another album in 2017. She’s also been in a slew of British TV shows. Next, We Just Met a Girl Named… Rachel Zegler! Get to Know the Ingenue Starring in the New West Side Story
