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Love Actually gets a sequel: Where are the stars now?

Bill Nighy will be back for  a Love Actually reunion.

Bill Nighy will be back for a Love Actually reunion.

Fans of Love Actually may feel like Christmas has come early with the news the beloved film is getting a sequel, complete with the original cast.

The film’s writer and director, Richard Curtis, revealed he is writing a short sequel to his 2003 hit that will revisit the film’s characters to see what they’re doing 14 years on.

Titled Red Nose Day Actually, the movie will be part of BBC One’s Red Nose Day fundraiser, which aims to support Comic Relief, a charity Curtis founded to fight poverty.

The film will feature a significant portion of the original cast, including stars Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Andrew Lincoln, Lucia Moniz, Olivia Olson, Marcus Brigstocke, Martine McCutcheon and Rowan Atkinson.

“I would never have dreamt of writing a sequel to Love Actually, but I thought it might be fun to do 10 minutes to see what everyone is now up to,” Curtis said.

“Who has aged best? I guess that’s the big question … or is it so obviously Liam [Neeson]?”

Sadly, the film will be noticeably missing one major talent – Alan Rickman, who played Emma Thompson’s character’s wayward husband Harry, passed away from cancer in January 2016.

Happily, the rest of the cast are still around and willing to reprise their roles for a good cause.

While it’s not hard to find out what big names like Knightley, Neeson and Grant have been up to in the interim, some of the actors have flown a bit further under the radar.

We tracked down seven lesser-known Love Actually stars to check in with them.

Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster)

At 26 years old, Thomas Brodie-Sangster might be all grown up, but he still possesses the boyish looks that charmed audiences when he played the adorably lovestruck Sam.

Game of Thrones fans will recognise Brodie-Sangster as Jojen Reed, while Star Wars fans might know he appeared in 2015’s The Force Awakens.

THOMAS BRODIE SANGSTER LOVE ACTUALLY

Aurelia (Lucia Moniz)

As the Portuguese housekeeper who cured Colin Firth’s heartbreak despite the language barrier, actress Lucia Moniz managed to say a lot with barely any lines and some brilliant facial expressions.

Today, Moniz is actually better known for her musical career. She represented Portugal in the 1996 Eurovision song competition and has released four albums. She continues to act and is now a mother.

lucia moniz love actually

Natalie (Martine McCutcheon)

Despite the bizarre and still inexplicable phenomenon whereby everyone seemed to think she was overweight and ugly, secretary Natalie managed to win the heart of Hugh Grant’s prime minister.

Following the success of the film, British actress Martine McCutcheon had a stint in the United States but returned to the United Kingdom, where she now appears as a panellist on the show Loose Women. She has one son.

natalie love actually today

Mia (Heike Makatsch)

True fans of the film will shudder at the mere mention of the name Mia, the woman responsible for throwing a spanner into the works of Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson’s adorable marriage.

In real life, German actress Heike Makatsch was too busy dating James Bond star Daniel Craig to actually be interested in Rickman. They were together for seven years before they split up. Today, she continues to act, but mostly in German films.

mia love actually today

Colin Frissell (Kris Marshall)

Who could forget the moment nerdy Colin from the UK managed to attract not one but four beautiful American women with his British charm? It felt like a victory for dorks everywhere.

Like his character, British actor Kris Marshall has found success in life and love. Most recently, he left a role on the hit BBC drama Death in Paradise to spend more time with his wife and daughter. Next up, he appears in the Australian film A Few Less Men.

colin love actually today

Joe (Gregor Fisher)

We all had a soft spot for Joe, the rough and ready manager whose loyalty to Bill Nighy’s character knew no bounds. Their bromance might be one of the best love stories to come out of the entire film.

Adorably, Scottish actor and comedian Gregor Fisher didn’t have many film roles after Love Actually, but of the few he did have, he starred alongside Nighy – in 2010’s Wild Target and in a small cameo in Shaun of the Dead.

joe love actually today

Joanna Anderson (Olivia Olson)

When high school heartbreaker Joanna belted out All I Want for Christmas is You, she not only stole the heart of Sam but of the entire movie-going world.

The American actress who played her, Olivia Olson, is now 24 and working as a voice actor in Los Angeles. She regularly lends her vocal talents to the popular animated series Adventure Time.

joanna love actually today

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