"Love Actually" was released in 2003.Universal Pictures - "Love Actually" is a popular holiday rom-com that was released in 2003.
- The lake where Colin Firth's character loses his script is actually very shallow and less than 12 inches deep.
- Keira Knightley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster were both teenagers when they filmed the movie, even though one played an adult and one played a child.
- The surprise wedding singers in the film were inspired by the Muppets at Jim Henson's funeral.
"Love Actually" debuted over 15 years ago and no holiday season has been the same since.
With a cast jam-packed full of stars like Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Martin Freeman, Andrew Lincoln, and Keira Knightley, it's no surprise that the film became an instant classic.
And although you might've seen in dozens of times, read on for 11 things you probably didn't know about "Love Actually."
There's a sequel that shows what some characters are up to now.
It's missing a few of the main characters.
Nick Briggs
"Love Actually" has a sequel that's 10 minutes long and only includes a handful of the original characters.
Created for Red Nose Day, the film was produced for charity in 2017 and it reveals what some of your favorite characters have been up to over the years.
And, according to Digital Spy, the UK and US each got slightly different versions of the sequel.
"Love Actually" was one of Martin Freeman's first movies.
Martin Freeman later became best-known for his role in "The Hobbit" series.
Universal Studios
Before he was Bilbo Baggins and the famed Dr. John Watson, Martin Freeman played a porn stand-in named John in "Love Actually."
Technically, this film was his third feature-length project since launching his career in 1997.
Colin Firth filmed his parts first, even though he wasn't sure if the movie could work.
Colin Firth filmed his parts first.
Universal
Olivia Olson, who played Joanna, is now primarily a voice actor.
Olivia Olson has voiced multiple cartoon characters over the past few years.
Universal
Olivia Olson played Joanna, Sam's crush in the film, but she has since moved on to voiceover acting.
She's voiced a plethora of characters including Marceline the Vampire Queen on "Adventure Time," Bliss on "The Powerpuff Girls," and Vanessa Doofenshmirtz on "Phineas and Ferb."
Emma Thompson channeled one of her real-life heartbreaks in the film.
Emma Thompson said she'd had "her heart broken badly" by her former husband in real life.
Universal Pictures
Emma Thompson said she used her own heartbreak as fuel while filming the scene where her character uncovers her husband's affair
Thompson had also dealt with infidelity in her marriage to Kenneth Branagh and said in a 2018 interview with The Telegraph that she channeled those same emotions into the iconic scene — which is perhaps why the pain felt so tangible to some viewers.
The surprise wedding singers in the film were inspired by the Muppets at Jim Henson's funeral.
Jim Henson created "The Muppets."
Disney
Curtis said his inspiration for the surprise wedding singers in the film came from Jim Henson's funeral, where puppeteers who had worked with Henson brought Muppets to the ceremony and surprised guests by performing a song dedicated to the deceased creator.
"So what happened was there was this huge audience of people and then all of a sudden there was this audience full of Muppets singing together," Curtis told Montclair Film in 2016. "So that's where I got this idea of everyone bringing their instruments and playing."
Much of the airport B-roll footage was secretly filmed by crew members.
The crew later got permission from the people in the footage.
Universal Pictures
Curtis also told Montclair Film that the crew hid and filmed people at the airport in order to get some authentic and candid B-roll footage.
When they recorded something they liked, they got permission to use the clips from the people in them.
The lake in the film was actually only 11 inches deep.
The lake scene was filmed in France.
Universal Pictures
Curtis also told Montclair Film that the lake in which Jamie (Colin Firth) and Jamie's girlfriend (Sienna Lúcia Moniz) famously splash in was actually very shallow, about 11 inches deep.
"No one inspected the depth of the lake, so you see them sort of lying around pretending to be swimming," the director shared, explaining that Firth and Moniz had to kneel down and pretend to flounder for Jamie's lost script.
Keira Knightley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster were both teenagers when they filmed the movie.
Both of them were fairly new to the acting scene.
Universal Pictures
Brodie-Sangster learned to play drums for the role.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster's dad is a drummer in real life.
Universal
Hugh Grant messed with Billy Bob Thornton on set.
Hugh Grant played off of Thornton's fear of antique furniture.
Universal