Love Actuallyhas been a Christmas movie classic for over 20 years, but a lot about the movie hasn’t aged well, especially when considering the ages of some of the movie’s stars. Released in 2003, the film follows 10 different stories about love and the holiday spirit around Christmastime in London. With this many storylines,Love Actuallyfeatures an all-star ensemble castnot only of top-tier British acting royalty like Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson, but also young up-and-coming talent. One breakout star ofLove Actuallyis Thomas Brodie Sangster, who played the besotted schoolboy Sam.
While Sam is full of childlike innocence, Sangster plays up the character’s old soul charm, and his is one ofLove Actually’s most beloved storylines. As this was the first role I and many others saw Sangster in, we’re curious about how old he was when he filmedt the movie. The answer itself isn’t exactly shocking, but when I learned how close he is in age to hisLove Actuallyco-star Keira Knightley, who has a much more mature storyline, my jaw hit the floor.
Thomas Brodie Sangster Was 13 & Keira Knightley Was 17 While Filming Love Actually
The Age Gap Isn’t Big, But Their Characters Are Worlds Apart
Thomas Brodie Sangster was 13 when he played Sam, the stepson of Daniel (Liam Neeson),in the beloved Christmas film. Sam is an average middle school kid trying to win the affection of a girl while dealing with the death of his mother. Sangster’s story is the only kid-centric story in the film, and the fact that the actor looked a lot younger than his age helped sell it, as he could easily pass for eleven or twelve. At least he is close enough in age to his love interest, Olivia Olson, who was eleven years old when she played Joanna.
Love Actually Pitch Meeting
ScreenRant’s Pitch Meeting series is taking a look back at Love Actually and why the fan-favorite Christmas rom-com may be a little too overstuffed.
On the other hand, thoughKeira Knightley was 18 when theLove Actuallywas released, she was only 17 years old when she actually played Juliet, who marries Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Peter and is pined after by Andrew Lincoln’s Mark.Meanwhile, Knightley’s romantic male co-stars were both significantly older than her, with Ejiofer being about 25 years old and Lincoln almost 30 at the time.
Although Knightley certainly does an excellent job playing a newlywed, it’s hard for viewers to forget that she’s still only a teenager in the film. Case in point: the reason why Knightley wears a huge blue hatin the film was to cover a large pimple on her forehead(viaToday). Knowing that, all I see is a teenager when I watch Knightley inLove Actually, which makes it harder to stomach the idea of her as a blushing bride.
Knightley’s Young Age Makes Her Love Actually Storyline Age Poorly
She’s Described It As “Stalkerish”
Love Actually’s cue card scene has definitely aged poorly, and it turns out that Knightley herself had a problem with it even then.In the scene, Andrew Lincoln’s Mark character tries to win the love of Knightley’s recently married Juliet by showing up at her door and confessing his feelings for her on cue cards. Knightley said (viaLos Angeles Times),
The slightly stalkerish aspect of it — Idoremember that. My memory is of [director] Richard [Curtis], who is now a very dear friend, of me doing the scene, and him going, “No, you’re looking at [Lincoln] like he’s creepy,” and I’m like [in a dramatic whisper], “But itisquite creepy.” And then having to redo it to fix my face to make him seem not creepy.
Lincoln, who was on the other side of theLove Actuallycue card scene, also admitted that the interaction has not aged well, especially considering Knightley’s age. In an interview withThe Wrap, Lincoln discussed how he had questioned the scene with director Richard Curtis, saying: “Do you not think we’re sort of borderline stalker territory here?” Apparently, Curtis did not see an issue with the scene until years after the film was released. When looking back onLove Actually, Curtis admitted that the cue card scene is weird.
Thomas Brodie Sangster Has Grown Up In Movies & TV
He’s Appeared In Game Of Thrones, The Maze Runner & The Queen’s Gambit
AfterLove Actually,Thomas Brodie Sangster found success in both film and television.He has certainly taken on more adult roles after playing Liam Neeson’s son. Notably, Sangster appeared in the early seasons of HBO’s megahit series,Game of Thrones,as Jojen Reed. ButGame of Thronesis not Sangster’s only appearance in a major franchise, as he appeared intheMaze Runnermoviesand was the voice of Ferb in the first four seasons of the beloved Disney Channel showPhineas and Ferb.
Franchises aside, Sangster is award-nominated. He plays Benny Watts in the Netflix seriesThe Queen’s Gambit, which earned himan Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.In his personal life, Sangster marriedactress Talulah Rileyin June 2024. No, Thomas Brodie Sangster is not a kid anymore, and while he will always be beloved forLove Actually, his career has grown far past the iconic Christmas movie.
