In “Love Actually,” Nighy played the aging rock and roll star Billy Mack who decided to make a Christmas song to cash in on the season. He won a BAFTA for the role and has continued his established acting career since.
The 73-year-old starred as Davy Jones in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, as radio ross boss Quention in “The Boat That Rocked,” and as Cliff LGBTQ+ film “Prime.” Most recently, the dad of one was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of terminally ill Mr Rodney Williams in “Living” opposite Aimee Lou Wood. Speculation has grown of late over his relationship with US Vogue Editor, Anna Wintour.
In one of the most heart-wrenching scenes in “Love Actually,” Thompson played Karen, who finds out her husband (played by Alan Rickman) has been having an affair. She was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role.
While not a lead character in the Christmas film, Atkinson certainly made an impression as the perfectionist Selfridges shop assistant, helping Harry buy a necklace for his mistress.
Already a household name thanks to TV series “Mr. Bean” and “Blackadder,” Atkinson’s comedic style continued following “Love Actually” with TV and films including the Johnny English film series. He is also set to star in the 2023 prequel, “Wonka,” alongside Grant. The 68-year-old began an affair with comedian Louise Ford in 2018, who was 26 years his junior. He separated from his wife and Ford ended her relationship with comedian James Acaster so they could be together. They went on to have a child together, Atkinson’s third.
Stage and screen actor, Ejiofor, 46, received an OBE in 2008 for services to the arts and he took on the role of Solomon Northup in “12 Years a Slave” in 2014, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. He made his directorial debut in 2019 with “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” and returned to play Mordo for the Doctor Strange sequel in 2022.
Neeson’s “Love Actually” character, Daniel, was grieving for his recently deceased wife but put his efforts into helping his son, Sam, find true love.
Tragically, life imitated art when in 2009 his wife, Natasha Richardson, died after suffering a head injury after a skiing accident. Neeson, 71, starred in action films “Taken” and as Ra’s Al Ghul in “Batman Begins.” His acting has been routed in the action genre, most recently starring in “Retribution” in 2023.
Rom-com favorite Firth, 63, played Jamie in “Love Actually” who, after finding his wife cheating on him with his brother, retreats to his French cottage and falls in love with the Portuguese housekeeper, Aurélia, who does not speak English.
Fresh from his role as Mark Darcy in “Bridget Jones,” he reprised the character for the two follow-up movies after “Love Actually.” He went on to star in iconic films “Mamma Mia” and “Mamma Mia Here We Go Again” as Harry Bright, and gained critical acclaim for his acting in “A Single Man” and “The King’s Speech,” the latter of which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 2010. The dad of three recently starred in “The Staircase,” a true-crime miniseries, alongside Toni Collette and Sophie Turner.
Portuguese actor and singer Moniz played Aurélia, a housekeeper tending to Jamie’s French abode who does not speak English. He falls in love with her, learns Portuguese, and proposes in front of her family.
Marshall, 50, played Colin, the “god of sex,” who travels across the pond in a bid to attract women with his British accent.
Linney played Sarah in “Love Actually,” an American working in London who is in love with the creative director at her work, Karl. When they connect at the Christmas party, she is interrupted by her mentally ill brother.
Linney, 59, starred in the 2004 film, “Kinsey,” 2005’s “The Squid and the Whale,” and 2007’s “The Savages,” for which she received her third Academy Award nomination. From 2017 to 2022, she starred in “Ozark” alongside Jason Bateman. Linney married in 2009 and fellow “Love Actually” star, Neeson, walked her down the aisle. She gave birth to a son in 2014.
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