Love Actually: where's the star cast, two decades later?

This film from 2003 is a modern Christmas classic and a huge hit every time it's broadcast in December. 'Love Actually' stood out for its star cast, including Hugh Grant and Keira Knightley (in this photo), while also making other actors' appearances (such as Martine McCutcheon, left in the photo) iconic in film history.

Nearly 20 years after its release, the cast reunited to ring in the holiday season. They made a special with Diane Sawyer for ABC in November 2022.

Image: ABC News / Diane Sawyer

Now that the film is undoubtedly hitting our TV screens again, let's see how the actors of this modern classic look today. 

In 'Love Actually,' the already famous Hugh Grant played the recently elected Prime Minister. He falls in love with a junior member of the household staff at 10 Downing Street while also making a fool of himself once in a while. The Prime Minister's awkward dance scene is film history!

Since appearing in 'Love Actually,' Grant has made several other blockbusters, including 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' (2004), 'Cloud Atlas' (2012), the 2020 thriller series 'The Undoing,' and 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery' (2022).

He plays an old Rock & Roll star who tries to become relevant again by making a Christmas hit. Billy Mack's version of the song 'Love Is All Around' is so funny that it actually might make it to the number one position in the UK that year.

A seasoned actor, Nighy would in fact become best known in the 21st century. Films like 'Love Actually,' for which he won a BAFTA, ‘The Constant Gardener’ (2005), ‘Pirates of the Caribbean' (2006, 2007), ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’ (2010), and the series ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ (2022) kept him relevant to this day.

Juliet is getting married, but her husband's best friend, who's filming the wedding, doesn't seem to like her at all. Or does he?

Keira Knightley went on to play in big productions like ‘Pride & Prejudice’ (2005), ‘Pirates of the Caribbean' (2006, 2007, 2017), and ‘Anna Karenina’ (2012), among many others.

A member of the 'Brit Pack' of the 1980s, Colin Firth was quite well known when he took on this role. He plays Jamie, who discovers that his girlfriend is having an affair with his brother. He retreats to his French cottage where he meets Aurelia, the Portuguese cleaning lady, with whom he falls madly in love.

Colin Firth has continued to shine since 'Love Actually.' Here we see him celebrating his Oscar for playing King George VI in 'The King's Speech' (2010). He also continued in the successful 'Bridget Jones' franchise and sang along in 'Mamma Mia!' (2008 and 2018.  There's no limit to what he can do.

Karen, the sister of the Prime Minister, is married to Harry. On Christmas Eve she discovers that her husband is courting another woman, as she finds a necklace that he bought for someone else. A sad story about a marriage in jeopardy.

Emma Thompson was another big star when she joined the cast of 'Love Actually.' She continued to work on famous projects like 'Harry Potter’ (2004, 2011), ‘Nanny McPhee’ (2005, 2010), and ‘Matilda the Musical’ (2022), among many others. As many of the 'Love Actually' cast, she hardly seems to have changed at all. 

This Northern Irish actor was recognized worldwide for 'Schindler's List' in 1993. Ten years later, he would show a different side of himself with 'Love Actually.' His character Daniel is grieving the loss of his wife and is stepfather to Sam (Thomas Sangster). 

It's not surprising, but still impressive, that Liam Neeson has been in more than a hundred films. Among them are 'Kinsey' (2004), 'The Other Man’ (2008),' 'Clash of the Titans' (2010), 'Cold Pursuit' (2019), and ‘ Memory’ (2022).

Daniel's stepson falls in love with his American classmate Joanna. He studies to play drums so he can accompany Joanna in the finale for their school's Christmas pageant. 

In the movie, he was just a boy, and now he's all grown up. Thomas Brodie-Sangster played in ‘Nanny McPhee’ (2005), 'The Maze Runner’ (2014, 2015, 2018), and the acclaimed series ‘The Queen's Gambit’ (2020).

Remember Laura Linney's part in 'Love Actually'? She plays an American who works with Harry and has been in love with Karl, the company's creative director, for years.

We may have forgotten about her role in 'Love Actually' because there has been so much after it! Most recently, Linney has been the star of 'Ozark' (2017-2022), and she also made an important series about terminal cancer with 'The Big C' (2010-2013). Laura Linney won several Emmys, one of them for the limited series 'John Adams' in 2008, where she played the First Lady, Abigail.

He plays the role of a happy man, getting married. The focus of his story is more on his best friend than on Peter himself, however. Peter's friend Harry is filming his wedding but he's is also secretly in love with his wife, Juliet.

Chiwetel Ejiofor has had a brilliant career since 'Love Actually.' He participated in more than 50 films and was nominated for an Oscar for his leading role in '12 Years a Slave' (2013). We can also see him in 'The Martian' (2015) and two 'Doctor Strange' movies (2016 and 2022).

Harry seems to be a bit annoyed by his best friend's new wife, Juliet, but in reality, he is in love with her. Andrew Lincoln gave us this unforgettable scene in which he declared his love for Juliet with huge cue cards while playing Christmas songs on the boombox.

The protagonist of 'The Walking Dead' from 2010 through 2022 has obviously not sat still after 'Love Actually.' He also appeared in ‘Penguin Bloom’ (2020) and ‘Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities,' an acclaimed series in 2022.

How can we forget Natalie's first meeting with the Prime Minister? She's at work in Downing Street and accidentally blurts out the word "sh**," attracting the attention of Hugh Grant's character. The Prime Minister cannot help falling in love with her.

People still recognize her as Natalie, but Martine McCutcheon was active in showbiz for many more years. She appeared in the series ‘Agatha Christie's Marple’ (2007), ‘Echo Beach’ (2008), ‘ Midsomer Murders’ (2008), and the movie ‘The Bromley Boys’ (2018).