What happened to the cast of Love Actually? Where they are now (2025)

Love Actually turned a sprawling London Christmas into one messy love map, then became the rare rom-com that people rewatch like a ritual. Released in 2003 and written and directed by Richard Curtis, the ensemble format made its cast feel like a snapshot of British and Hollywood stardom in motion.

The film’s reputation also matured. A few storylines now get pushback, and Curtis has been candid about what he would change. Still, the actors keep circling back in interviews and anniversary specials, often treating the movie like a career mile marker rather than a frozen-in-time artifact.

Love Actually cast then and now: where the main stars are in 2025?

1) Hugh Grant as David:

Then: He anchored the Downing Street fantasy as the charming Prime Minister. Now: Grant has leaned into sharper, stranger work, while still returning to crowd-pleasers. He also stepped back into one of his best-known rom-com roles for the next Bridget Jones film.

2) Emma Thompson as Karen:

Then: She delivered the film’s emotional gut-punch, with a marriage storyline that still lands hardest for many viewers.

Now: Thompson remains an awards-level lead and has also embraced more physically demanding work, including her 2025 action-thriller turn in Dead of Winter.

3) Alan Rickman as Harry

Then: He played Karen’s husband, at the center of the movie’s most painful reveal.

Now: Rickman died in 2016, and later anniversary coverage has treated his absence as one of the film’s most felt gaps.

4) Colin Firth as Jamie

Then: He was the heartbroken writer who finds love across a language barrier. Now: Firth continues mixing film and TV, including the 2025 drama Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, where he plays Dr. Jim Swire.

5) Keira Knightley as Juliet

Then: She was the newlywed at the center of the cue-card doorstep scene that keeps getting relitigated.

Now: Knightley has stayed in the top tier of adult leads, and her recent run includes Netflix’s spy series Black Doves.

6) Andrew Lincoln as Mark

Then: He played the friend-with-a-crush in the movie’s most debated love triangle. Now: Lincoln returned to his signature franchise world with The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, bringing Rick Grimes back into the spotlight for a new chapter.

7) Liam Neeson as Daniel

Then: He carried the widower-and-stepson storyline, with grief as the engine. Now: Neeson has remained a busy screen lead, including headlining the 2025 reboot of The Naked Gun as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr.

8) Laura Linney as Sarah

Then: She played the overworked sister whose romance is constantly interrupted by caregiving.

Now: Linney has kept a steady prestige lane and expanded behind the camera, including directing episodes of Netflix’s limited series Black Rabbit. As per the ABC7 San Francisco report dated November 29, 2022, Linney said,

“Love Actually' is not just positive love....It's also the repercussions of love and the responsibility of love and the heartbreak of love.”

9) Martine McCutcheon as Natalie

Then: She played the Downing Street staffer at the center of the movie’s rom-com arc.

Now: McCutcheon has remained a familiar face in UK entertainment and has also shared personal life updates publicly, including confirming her separation from husband Jack McManus in 2024.

10) Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Sam

Then: He was the kid chasing a first crush, with the airport finale payoff.

Now: Brodie-Sangster grew into major TV and film work, and he married actor Talulah Riley in June 2024. His post-child-actor career arc is often summed up through roles like The Queen’s Gambit as much as this early breakout.

11) Bill Nighy as Billy Mack

Then: He delivered the film’s funniest running gag, then landed the movie’s most unexpectedly sincere “love” speech.

Now: Nighy stays in steady demand, and he’s also spoken about how strongly audiences connect with the film. As per the ABC7 San Francisco report dated November 29, 2022, Nighy said about her character in Love Actually,

“I've had people coming up to me saying, 'It got me through my-- chemotherapy.' Or, 'It got me through my divorce.' Or, 'I watch it whenever I'm alone.”

Love Actually reunions, what the cast has said, and where to watch in 2025

The one official follow-up to Love Actually was not a feature sequel. It was the short charity continuation Red Nose Day Actually (2017), written and directed by Curtis for Comic Relief. Curtis also framed the idea as deliberately small rather than franchise-building. As per the TIME report dated March 23, 2017, Curtis said it,

“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 stated Liam Neeson aged the best. He further stated,

"Who has aged best? — I guess that’s the big question…or is it so obviously Liam? We’ve been delighted and grateful that so many of the cast are around and able to take part — and it’ll certainly be a nostalgic moment getting back together and re-creating their characters 14 years later. We hope to make something that’ll be fun"

The biggest cast “group moment” since then was the Diane Sawyer anniversary special, which brought multiple actors back into interview mode and reopened the conversation about what has aged well and what has not. Curtis has also addressed the film’s blind spots directly. As per an ABC report, Curtis discussed things about the movie,

“There are things you'd change but, thank God, society is changing, so my film is bound, in some moments, to feel out of date...The lack of diversity makes me feel uncomfortable and a bit stupid,...You know, I think there are sort of three plots that have sort of bosses and people who work for them.”

As for streaming in 2025, availability keeps rotating by region. In the U.S., it commonly appears seasonally on Peacock and Prime Video, and it’s also widely available to rent or buy digitally.

Stay tuned for more updates.