In fact, love might not be the best way to describe one of Keira Knightley’s most iconic movie scenes.
The legendary actress became synonymous with the holiday season when she joined the star-studded cast of 2003’s romantic Christmas movie Love Actually.
Despite its popularity, Knightley admits she doesn’t remember much about her experience on set.
“Most of the movies I’ve either never seen or I’ve only seen once. So that’s nothing against ‘Love Actually.’ It’s cute because when it came out it wasn’t as good as everyone thought it was, and then all of a sudden, After about three or four years, it started to take on a life of its own,” she told the Los Angeles Times.
‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star Keira Knightley says she was ‘publicly gutted’ and traumatized after film ended
Keira Knightley is one of several big-name actors in the 2003 Christmas movie Love Actually. (Dimitrios Cambris/Getty Images)
“It’s the only movie I’ve ever seen that found a life later. The thing is, I watched it for about five days. I was 17, so I don’t actually have any memory of it.”
Keira Knightley said Love Actually was the only film of hers that resonated with audiences after its premiere. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
The film weaves together characters through various love stories, including newlyweds Juliet and Peter, played by Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor respectively. Their wedding was photographed by Peter’s best man Mark (played by Andrew Lincoln), who has a crush on Juliet.
In what is now an iconic scene, Mark arrives at Juliet’s door dragging his cue card to express his love for her. Mark stands outside the couple’s door, playing “Silent Night” on the speakers. Unbeknownst to his friend Peter, Mark asks Juliet to read the card and tell her how he really feels.
Andrew Lincoln, who plays Mark in Love Actually, flips through a series of cards professing his love for Juliet (Keira Knightley). (Maximum Films/Alami Stock Photo)
The scene hasn’t aged well, and many admit it had a strangely inappropriate undertone, something Knightley remembers feeling while on set and speaking to director Richard Curtis.
“There’s a bit of a stalking aspect to it – I Do Keep that in mind,” Knightley recalled of the shoot. “My memory is that Richard, who is now a very close friend of mine, I was filming this scene and he said, ‘No, you’re watching [Lincoln] Like he’s creepy,” I said, “but it’s yes Pretty creepy.
“Then it had to be redone to fix my face and make it look less creepy,” she added.
Keira Knightley said she raised her concerns with director Richard Curtis during filming in 2003. (Courtesy of Universal/Everett Collection)
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“I mean, there Was Knightley, now 39, said. Everyone Others “I realized I was 17,” she said of her age during filming. Lincoln, whom her character Juliet chases and kisses, was 29 at the time.
Lincoln recalled having similar concerns in a 2017 interview with Vanity Fair.
“I kept saying to Richard, ‘Are you sure I’m not going to act like a creepy stalker?'” he said.
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In 2023, Richard spoke to The Independent and acknowledged the inherent weirdness of the scene.
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“I It feels a little strange. I mean, I remember being surprised about seven years ago when I was going to be interviewed by someone and they said, ‘Of course, we’re mainly interested in the stalker scene,’ and I said, ‘What’s that scene? ? And then I kind of got an education in it,” he said. “All I can say is that there were a lot of smart people involved in the film and we didn’t see it as a stalker scene.
Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Colin Firth also appear in the film.
