Unwrap the magic behind this beloved holiday rom-com! From hidden zits to real-life heartbreak, we're revealing the most fascinating behind-the-scenes facts about "Love Actually". Discover how family ties, improvised dances, and genuine airport reunions shaped this Christmas classic. Get ready for a sleigh-full of surprises!
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00:00Actually, I really can't wait.
00:02Oh, you won't regret it, sir.
00:03Wanna bet?
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:06And today, we're counting down our picks
00:08for the most fascinating stories behind this beloved British
00:11holiday classic.
00:13Her dreams were about an office colleague played by Brazilian
00:17actor Rodrigo Santoro.
00:19In real life, the actor's hearts were bruised too.
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00:46Epic Entertainment.
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00:49Best Christmas ever.
00:5110.
00:52Keira Knightley's hat.
00:55Been off your pie?
00:57No.
00:58As a newlywed who realizes her husband's best friend is
01:01in love with her, Keira Knightley
01:03plays the big reveal scene in a more dressed-down look.
01:07Most notably, she arrives at Mark's place
01:10wearing a cap in a style that was popular at the time.
01:13Peter and Juliet's wedding.
01:14Do you think we might be able to get married?
01:16I don't think so.
01:17It turns out this was a deliberate styling choice.
01:20Apparently, on the day they were filming the scene,
01:23Knightley had a big zit smack dab
01:25in the middle of her forehead.
01:27Do you know why the hat was there?
01:28I had a massive spot in the middle of my forehead.
01:30This is the problem with being 17.
01:32As the actress says, the spot was so big
01:35that no cosmetic fix was going to sufficiently help.
01:38I'm not going to lie.
01:39I'm not going to lie.
01:40I'm not going to lie.
01:41I'm not going to lie.
01:42I'm not going to lie.
01:43I'm not going to lie.
01:44I'm not going to lie.
01:45I'm not going to lie.
01:46...to sufficiently hide it.
01:48Because there was no lighting,
01:49there was no makeup that was going to cover it.
01:51You're going to watch that film
01:52in a totally new way now.
01:54Number nine.
01:55The movie was a family affair.
01:57So what's this big news, then?
01:59We've been given our parts in the Nativity play.
02:01Oh!
02:02And I'm the lobster.
02:03The lobster?
02:04Yeah.
02:05In the Nativity play?
02:07Yeah.
02:08Birth lobster.
02:09There was more than one lobster
02:10present at the birth of Jesus.
02:12Duh.
02:13Writer-director Richard Curtis
02:15has a habit of engaging his family
02:17both on camera and behind the scenes.
02:20His partner, broadcaster and writer Emma Freud,
02:23is credited on the screenplay as a script editor.
02:26Their children also appear in the film
02:28as part of the unconventional Nativity play.
02:31Their daughter plays one of the lobsters
02:33present at the birth of Jesus,
02:35and their son can be seen in Spider-Man makeup.
02:38Never let it fade away.
02:44Curtis's mother-in-law, Jill Freud,
02:47even got in on the action,
02:49appearing as the prime minister's housekeeper.
02:52This is Pat.
02:53Hello, Pat.
02:54Good morning, sir.
02:55I'm the housekeeper.
02:56Oh, right.
02:57Well, it should be a lot easier with me
02:58than with the last lot.
02:59In the same vein,
03:00Curtis named Colin Firth's character Jamie
03:03because it's his brother's name.
03:05It's heartwarming until you learn that he only did it
03:08because he thought it would be funny
03:09to have the kids go around saying,
03:11We hate Uncle Jamie.
03:13I hate Uncle Jamie.
03:15I hate Uncle Jamie.
03:17I hate Uncle Jamie.
03:19Number 8.
03:20Hugh Grant and Colin Firth's storylines
03:22were supposed to be their own movie.
03:25Oh, God.
03:29You have this kind of problem?
03:33Before Richard Curtis settled on making
03:35a massive ensemble piece,
03:37he was working on two different love stories.
03:40One involved a prime minister
03:42who falls in love with a woman on his staff.
03:44The other was a separate screenplay
03:46about a writer developing feelings
03:48for his housekeeper.
03:49What kind of book is it?
03:51Like...
04:01Romance?
04:03Yes, it's...
04:07Feeling stuck on both ideas,
04:09he tried a different approach.
04:11Inspired by Pulp Fiction, of all movies,
04:14as well as the work of Robert Altman,
04:16Curtis began working on what would
04:18eventually become Love Actually.
04:20He carved the best elements of both ideas
04:23and threw them into a larger story
04:25about the nature of love.
04:27No, Love Actually was a...
04:28Love Actually was trying to...
04:30So, two bits of Love Actually
04:31were meant to be whole films.
04:33And I thought, I don't want to go on
04:34making these romantic films
04:36if I now understand the form
04:38because there's not much interest in that.
04:40So, what I did is I just thought
04:42of a lot of stories I was interested in
04:44and said, let's just have the best scenes.
04:48Number 7.
04:49There were originally even more storylines.
04:52Excellent episode of Starsky and Hutch this afternoon.
04:56Those two really are the most appalling drivers.
05:02Love Actually manages to tell
05:04ten different but overlapping stories
05:06in just over two hours.
05:08It turns out Richard Curtis'
05:10original script was even bigger.
05:12There were initially a total of 14 narratives.
05:15Two were dropped before they started shooting,
05:18but two were actually filmed
05:19and left on the cutting room floor.
05:21One storyline involved a same-sex relationship
05:24where the headmistress of a school
05:26could be seen caring for her terminally ill partner.
05:29Another was intended to depict
05:31a Kenyan couple sticking together through hardship.
05:37I'm sorry, I didn't do my part.
05:40Don't worry.
05:42I'm glad you're happy.
05:44You have a good heart.
05:46Everything is fine with me.
05:48Editing the stories together was its own challenge
05:51as the filmmakers had to completely rearrange
05:53for it to make any sense.
05:55It's going to be a very good Christmas.
06:02Number 6.
06:03The jeweler was originally an angel.
06:06Looking for anything in particular, sir?
06:08Yes, um, that necklace there, how much is it?
06:12It's £270.
06:14Rowan Atkinson's short but hysterical appearance
06:17as Rufus, a jewelry salesman
06:19who takes wrapping very seriously,
06:21provides a bit of suspense at a pivotal moment.
06:24Wrapping the necklace Alan Rickman's character Harry
06:27is secretly buying for his secretary,
06:29Rufus's meticulousness threatens to reveal
06:32this clandestine purchase to his wife Karen.
06:35Could we be quite quick?
06:38Prontissimo.
06:40In true It's a Wonderful Lifestyle,
06:42Rufus was originally conceived as an angel.
06:45According to Richard Curtis's wife,
06:47the omniscient character was over-wrapping the necklace
06:50to scare Harry out of being unfaithful.
06:52Rowan was just taking his time,
06:55so he would do 11-minute takes.
06:58He said, Richard, do you think we should take this out before
07:00and when I take the lavender, do you think I should push it?
07:03I don't know.
07:04Atkinson took great joy in milking the scene,
07:07doing 11-minute takes at a time.
07:10We wouldn't be surprised if Rickman didn't have to do
07:12a whole lot of acting by the end of it.
07:14Can I just pay?
07:15All we need now...
07:16Oh, God.
07:17...is a sprig of holly.
07:18No, no, no, no.
07:20No bloody holly.
07:21But sir...
07:22Leave it, leave it, just leave it.
07:23Number five,
07:25Laura Linney and Rodrigo Santoro's special bond.
07:28Just one dance before we run out of chances.
07:32Me?
07:33Unless you just...
07:35No, no, good.
07:38One of the more depressing storylines in the film
07:40involves a graphic designer named Sarah
07:43who is in love with a colleague, Carl.
07:45Actors Laura Linney and Rodrigo Santoro
07:48communicate a lot of their characters' feelings silently.
07:51Their scenes together are full of longing.
07:54Chemistry Linney credits to very real heartbreak,
07:57as the two were both broken up with
07:59by their respective partners during the making of the film.
08:02Rodrigo and I were both brokenhearted
08:04when we made this movie.
08:06I got in the car, it was early in the morning.
08:08He slumped in the car and he looked at me like,
08:10Laura, she broke up with me.
08:12And I was like, guess what?
08:14Me too.
08:15There's an extra level of realism
08:17because they leaned into their shared experience.
08:20It makes their characters' struggle to connect
08:22while life gets in the way even more touching.
08:25Life is full of interruptions and complications.
08:31So...
08:37Number four,
08:38Emma Thompson brought real-life pain to her big scene.
08:42And if you can,
08:44don't let them know.
08:48Don't give yourself away.
08:52In an unforgettable and gut-wrenching scene,
08:55Emma Thompson's character Karen
08:57realizes the necklace her husband bought
08:59is not for her, but for another woman.
09:02Thompson recalled her high-profile marriage
09:04to British actor and director Kenneth Branagh,
09:07whose infidelity was widely publicized at the time.
09:11Karen's sadness resonated with the actress,
09:14as she could recall the feeling of realization
09:16that her husband had been unfaithful.
09:18♪ I've looked at love from both sides now
09:23♪ From give and take
09:26While it isn't a one-to-one representation
09:29of that moment for her,
09:30Thompson was able to dig into the emotional reality
09:33as a result of having lived through a similar scenario.
09:37♪ I've looked at life that way
09:41♪ Ah, but now, old friends
09:44Oh my God!
09:45They're acting strange.
09:54Oh, hi.
09:55Who is it?
10:01In what might be Love Actually's most famous
10:04and most controversial scene,
10:06Andrew Lincoln's mark appears
10:07at Juliet's doorstep with a message.
10:10The scene, inspired by a Bob Dylan music video
10:12from the 1960s, has since become iconic.
10:16Instead of song lyrics, though,
10:18Mark has written out his declaration of love
10:20for his best friend's new wife on a series of cards.
10:23♪ Found on virgin
10:27♪ Father and child
10:32♪ Holy infant
10:36♪ So tender and mild
10:41Even at the time,
10:42Lincoln wondered if it didn't make his character
10:44look like a, quote, creepy stalker.
10:47Still, it didn't stop the actor
10:48from writing the cards himself
10:50instead of leaving it to the production's art department,
10:53which does make for a nice little personal touch.
10:56Whether you think it's dreamy, corny, or creepy,
10:59it remains the movie's most enduring scene.
11:02So, uh, who's up first? Who's up first?
11:04Oh!
11:05Oh?
11:06Hello.
11:07You're not gonna speak?
11:08You're not gonna speak?
11:09Oh.
11:10None of those things.
11:11Okay, okay, off you go, off you go.
11:13Ah.
11:14Oh.
11:15Oh!
11:16Oh!
11:17Oh!
11:18Oh!
11:19Oh!
11:21Number two.
11:22Hugh Grant hated the dance scene.
11:25Oh, he was grumpy.
11:26He was grumpy, but he knew.
11:28It was a contractual obligation.
11:30A bit of contractual obligation acting.
11:33After the prime minister finally stands up
11:35to the arrogant American president,
11:37he's really feeling his oats.
11:39dances around to the song, Jump For My Love, in a majorly crowd-pleasing scene.
11:51Actor Hugh Grant, however, was far from pleased. Grant is most famously kind of grumpy. Even
11:57friend and co-star Emma Thompson has said as much.
12:04Calling the scene a contractual obligation, Grant dreaded it so much that he didn't even
12:09rehearse the improvised dance.
12:18Not only is he responsible for that stroke of genius, he also came up with the button
12:23at the end of the scene, when his character is caught dancing by a staff member.
12:35Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
12:40Music performer Olivia Olsen was offered record deals after her performance in the
12:44movie.
13:05Thomas Brody-Sangster and Keira Knightley were only five years apart in age during production.
13:20The word actually is used 23 times.
13:31The lake Colin Firth and Lucia Muniz jump into was only 18 inches deep.
13:44The water had dried out. Look at the crew member easily standing up, while the actress
13:50pretends to swim.
13:53The airport footage is real.
14:09Love Actually opens with the Prime Minister's voiceover about love, played over footage
14:14of families reuniting at London's Heathrow Airport. Richard Curtis did not stage these
14:19reunions. He dispatched a crew to hide hidden cameras, hoping to capture the very real meetings
14:25of travelers meeting their loved ones. The crew would then seek permission from the subjects
14:30to be included in the film. This documentary footage bookends the movie.
14:35It doesn't just give the movie a fitting opening and closing. These scenes actively
14:40highlight the movie's theme of love existing everywhere, not just on a movie screen.
15:03Will you be re-watching Love Actually this holiday season? Let us know in the comments.