‘I starred in one of the biggest Christmas films – but I will never watch it’ | Films | Entertainment

Though it’s considered one of the most beloved Christmas films of all time, Emma Thompson has no plans to watch Love Actually ever again. The actress, 66, portrayed Karen in the 2003 festive classic, joining a star-studded cast that included Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, and Keira Knightley. But even though it remains a classic to this day, Emma admitted she will never tune in.

In 2022, Emma appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon when she was asked by the presenter if she ever revisits the film. “No! It was 20 years ago,” Emma bluntly confessed. The presenter asked: “Isn’t it kind of fun to put it on and go, ‘Oh, I remember where we were when we were doing that?’” According to Emma, it is absolutely not. 

“Not really. You just think… I don’t think I was very well paid for that and there was that terrible trailer with the loo that really stank,” the Nanny McPhee star recalled. “These are the things that you remember.”

She’s certainly not the only cast member to avoid revisiting the film. Martine McCutcheon, who played Hugh Grant’s love interest Natalie, revealed that many of the stars were ‘cringing’ when they were forced to watch themselves on screen at the premiere.

“I can’t watch myself,” told Hello! Magazine. “At the premiere when we went to watch the film, a lot of us were sat there cringing at ourselves, because you’re seeing yourself on this huge screen, and it’s just not normal!”

“Some people can do it, and watch it, I’m just like, ‘Nooo get me out of this,'” she added.

“There must be something about Love Actually that we don’t know, because Liam Neeson has also admitted he also skips the film if it ever comes on. 

The 73-year-old portrays a recently widowed man caring for his 13-year-old stepson, played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster, in a story that is emotionally intertwined with several others.

Appearing on Watch What Happens Live in 2020, the Taken star was asked by Host Andy Cohen: “If you’re flipping around the TV and Love Actually is on, will you watch it?”

The actor responded: “No… Not because I don’t like it, I think it’s a beautiful film. I really do.”