Keira Knightley played the fan favourite role of Juliet in the Richard Curtis movie Love Actually, but she won’t be sitting down to watch it this Christmas for one reason
It’s the festive season, and everyone’s settling down to watch the 2003 blockbuster Love Actually, aside from Keira Knightley, despite starring in it.
The Bend It Like Beckham star features as fan favourite Juliet in the film and has revealed why she’s only ever watched it once. In a recent pre-recorded interview on the ITV daytime show, Lorraine, Keira, who was only 17 when filming the movie, gushed about how popular the film had become: “It’s amazing how Love Actually just sort of grew and grew and grew and it really has taken on a life of its own. It’s so much a part of people’s Christmas traditions which is absolutely amazing,” she said.
However, she then went on to make her shock revelation: “I’ve only seen it once – which is nothing to do with it [the movie itself],” she said, admitting that it was the same with every other movie she’s ever done. “I’ve only ever watched anything I’ve done once so it’s amazing that it has this whole life which is outside me, how nice.”
The film has many memorable moments, one huge one being the memorable placards scene in which Mark (Andrew Lincoln) turns up to Juliet and her new husband, Peter’s house. He declares his love for Juliet with the cards, which Keira later described as “quite stalkerish.”
In an interview with the LA Times, she revealed that because she was only 17 at the time, she could only be on set for limited hours. However, there’s one thing she does remember.
“The slightly stalkerish aspect of it – I do remember that,” she said. “My memory is of Richard, who is now a very dear friend, of me doing the scene, and him going, ‘No, you’re looking at [Andrew] like he’s creepy,’ and I’m like [in a dramatic whisper], ‘But it is quite creepy.’”
The star then recalled “having to redo it to fix my face to make him seem not creepy.” The scene also continued in real life for Keira, who recalled have placards held up at her in real life. During an interview on The Graham Norton Show she recalled: “I was stuck in traffic for ages recently and a car full of builders next to me started holding up the signs like in the movie. It was creepy and sweet at the same time, much like it was in the film,” she said.