There Are Only 5 Years Between These Two Actors From Love Actually — Fans Are Shocked

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Even after over 20 years, ‘Love Actually‘ is still a beloved holiday movie, and many viewers are still surprised by one particular casting choice each Christmas.

I was revisiting the 2003 rom-com the other day, and it’s packed with familiar faces and a bunch of different stories going on. It’s funny – I recently learned something a little strange about the cast. Keira Knightley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who both appear in the movie, never actually share any screen time together. But what’s even more surprising is that they’re only five years apart in age! It’s one of those little movie facts that always gets me thinking.

The age difference between the actors is striking on screen. Keira Knightley portrays Juliet, a newlywed in a difficult love triangle, while Thomas Brodie-Sangster plays Sam, a schoolboy experiencing his first crush and relying on guidance from his stepfather, played by Liam Neeson. Knightley appears as a mature adult, while Brodie-Sangster clearly looks like a child.

Honestly, the age difference between Emma and Alistair wasn’t that noticeable on screen. Emma Knightley was seventeen while we were filming, and Louis Brodie-Sangster was about twelve – it felt pretty believable, you know?

Fans have been surprised by this for years. One Reddit user captured the feeling with a simple, “Hey what the f?” Another user noted that Keira Knightley was actually closer in age to Thomas Brodie-Sangster than to the actors who played her love interests.

Yearly reminder that there is only a 5-year age gap between Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Kiera Knightley in “Love Actually” (2003)
byu/Penguin-Monk inshittymoviedetails

Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played her husband, was 26 years old during filming. Andrew Lincoln, the actor who played the character with hidden feelings for her, was 30. This age gap has led some viewers to see a well-known scene from the movie in a new light.

Keira Knightley has talked about how awkward that scene felt for her. She remembers being told to tone down her response while filming it. She specifically recalled the character’s behavior feeling a bit like stalking. “I do remember that,” she said, adding that even then, she thought it was creepy. She pointed out, “I knew I was 17,” and it took a long time for people to fully understand just how young she was during filming.

Director Richard Curtis has also thought about this issue and admitted that while the casting didn’t feel odd at the time, he now wonders if he’d make different decisions looking back.

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2025-12-26 00:44