Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz & Frances Kindon

Where the Love Actually cast are now - family tragedy, Hollywood gigs and singing careers

Love Actually is synonymous with Christmas time. Many of us just have to watch the 2003 classic festive film every year or it doesn't feel the same.

The movie was written and directed by Richard Curtis, and received mixed reviews from critics, but despite this it has become a modern day must-watch at Christmas.

Recently, Diane Sawyer hosted an ABC special called The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later, where she caught up with some of the stars of the film.

The movie starred incredibly successful actors and actresses who are still active today – from Emma Thompson and Keira Knightley to Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Bill Nighty.

But what happened to the other actors who starred in the romantic comedy? Here we take a closer look at what has happened since it premiered in 2003.

Harry - Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman, perhaps most known for going on to star as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series, played Emma Thompson's husband in the film.

'Bad Harry' found himself in the doghouse after falling for the charms of Mia and breaking his wife's heart in the process.

But in real life, actor Alan was far from a lothario, staying married to childhood sweetheart Rima Horton until his death in 2016.

Sadly, Alan suffered a minor stroke in August 2015, before doctors discovered he was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

He passed away aged 69 in January 2016.

Sam - Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Thomas is now in his 30s (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Champagne Lanson)
Talulah Riley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster are dating (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Cowes Week)

Now aged 32, Thomas Brodie-Sangster went on to have incredible success as an actor after playing young Sam in Love Actually.

He starred in Nanny McPhee, Nowhere Boy and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and landed the coveted role of Jojen Reed in Game of Thrones.

He is currently dating Elon Musk's ex-wife Talulah Riley who he stars in Danny Boyle's Sex Pistols biopic Pistol with.

Thomas later confirmed they hadn't started dating until filming wrapped.

Daniel - Liam Neeson

Liam's wife, Natasha Richardson, passed away in 2009 (Getty Images)
Liam has had an incredibly successful career (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

Liam Neeson played Sam's grieving step-father who is navigating life after his wife died.

Six years later Liam's own life was hit by tragedy when his wife Natasha Richardson died in a freak skiing accident.

She had been taking a beginners ski lesson at the Mont Tremblant Resort near Montreal when she fell and hit her head.

After initially laughing off the incident, she was rushed to hospital in New York after complaining of agonising headaches.

"I was told she was brain dead... She was on life support and stuff," Liam told 60 Minutes in 2014.

"And I went in... and told her I loved her. I said, 'Sweetie, you’re not coming back from this. You've banged your head. It's – I don’t know if you can hear me, but that's – this is what's gone down.'"

She died from an epidural hematoma two days later.

Liam, now 70, went on to be an action star in many thrillers – including Taken, The A-Team, Wrath of the Titans Non-Stop and The Commuter.

In 2019, Liam sparked a race row after opening up about an "inappropriate comment" he made in an interview with the Independent.

While being interviewed for his film Cold Pursuit - he admitted to his violent racist impulse after a relative was raped.

Liam admitted his shame over walking the streets with a cosh hoping he could find "some black b*****d" to kill.

Liam admitted that it was "horrible, horrible" for him to tarnish all men of colour with the same brush and that he was so ready to hurt an innocent person.

Mark - Andrew Lincoln

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead (Gene Page/AMC)

Andrew Lincoln played the part of Mark, who was hopelessly in love with his best friend's wife Juliet, played by Keira Knightley.

He went on to become a huge Hollywood star thanks to his role as Rick Grimes in blockbuster zombie apocalypse series, The Walking Dead.

In 2019 he filmed his first non-The Walking Dead role since 2010 in the drama Penguin Bloom.

Now aged 49, he is also set to appear as Rick in a spinoff of The Walking Dead which is set to be released in 2023.

Mia - Heike Makatsch

Heike Makatsch has enjoyed a successful career (WireImage)
Mia and Harry in Love Actually (Rex)

Heike Makatsch played Mia, the office femme fatale who seduced her married boss Harry, and convinced him to buy her a sexy Christmas present which wife Karen then found.

The German actress went on to make a name for herself as Lisa Addison in 2002's Resident Evil and Liesel's mother in The Book Thief in 2013.

In 2020 Heike starred as a journalist and single mother in a crime drama called Zero, directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank.

Joanna - Olivia Olson

Olivia Olson in The X Factor: Celebrity (Dymond/Thames/Syco/REX/Shutterstock)
Olivia wowed viewers with her voice in Love Actually (WireImage)

American actress Olivia Olson impressed viewers with her incredible rendition of All I Want For Christmas.

After Love Actually, the Californian native starred in Disney's long-running TV show Phineas And Ferb from 2007 to 2015.

She also voiced Bliss in the reboot of The Powerpuff Girls, and has narrated characters in a number of video games such as the Adventure Time franchises' games and Lego Dimensions.

Now aged 30, she recently took part in X-factor Celebrity, but was left in tears when she was voted off in the first live show.

Karl - Rodrigo Santoro

Rodrigo Santoro at GQ's Annual Men of the Year Party in 2022 (Stewart Cook/REX/Shutterstock)

Hunky Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro played the shy office worker who Laura Linney's character Sarah fell in love with.

Since then, Rodrigo has had steady work, with stand-out roles in 300 and Focus.

He also appeared on the TV show Lost as Paulo, and HBO's Westworld as Hector.

Now aged 47, he is still acting and is due to star in American supernatural teen drama series Wolf Pack in 2023.

Judy - Joanna Page

Joanna Page starred in Gavin & Stacey (Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Joanna Page has been incredibly successful (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Joanna Page plays stunt double Judy who falls in love with Martin Freeman's character John.

The Welsh actress went on to star as one of the titular characters in James Corden's Gavin and Stacey.

Joanna has continued to act, recently starring as Bethan Stubbins in the 2020 movie Doolittle alongside Robert Downey Jr.

Now aged 45, she also co-presents BBC One consumer series Shop Well for less alongside Melanie Sykes.

Aurelia - Lucia Moniz

Lucia Moniz is a successful musician (REX/Shutterstock)

Lucia Moniz made a name for herself as Colin Firth's character Jamie's Portuguese cleaner.

Before starting in the film she was actually a singer, famously representing her country at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996.

With five albums under her belt to date, she returned to the music industry after filming.

Now aged 46, she has also continued to star in TV shows, most recently as Isabel Da Paz in the Portuguese telenovela Na Corda Bamba.

Colin - Kris Marshall

Kris Marshall has had a long and successful career (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Kris Marshall in Death in Paradise (BBC/Red Planet Pictures/Denis Guyenon)

Kris Marshall played Colin Frisell, who travelled to America because he struggled to find "English girls".

The 49-year-old has had a hugely successful career, and many will also recognise him for his role as Nick Harper in the TV series My Family.

He has also starred as Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice and most recently as DI Humphrey Goodman in Death in Paradise.

Do you watch Love Actually every year? Let us know in the comments below.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.