Here Are All the Couples in ‘Love Actually’

Love Actually is not only one of the best holiday movies, but one of the most beloved. The 2003 romantic comedy features a massive ensemble cast of some of the best British actors — plus a few American ones — playing characters looking for love in London.

With a cast of dozens, it’s hard to keep track of the couples, and the couples of unrequited love.

The cast also features some actors who have only become major stars since the film was released.

Andrew Lincoln found success as Rick on The Walking Dead; Chiwetel Ejifor became a household name after 12 Years a Slave and is now a go-to actor for Hollywood villains; Keira Knightley was just on the cusp of stardom, and Martin Freeman was a year away from The Office and several years away from Sherlock.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the couples from director Richard Curtis’ Love Actually.

Juliet, Peter and Mark

The young couple getting married in the film is Juliet (Knightley) and Peter (Ejiofor). This story has a third wheel — Mark (Lincoln). Mark is secretly in love with Juliet, who thinks he hates her. He created a wedding video for the couple, which is filled with uncomfortable close-ups of her. 

Later, on Christmas Eve, Juliet finds Mark outside her house, playing a boombox and carrying cue cards in Love Actually‘s most famous scene. In the end, Mark doesn’t get the girl, which would be the easy way out for the film. Instead, Curtis stuck with a realistic ending to the plot. 

Billy Mack and Joe

Love Actually is an anthology movie, but one where the stories come together in the finale. But not all couples in the movie are romantic.

Bill Nighy’s Billy Mack doesn’t have a romantic story. Instead, he’s spending his part of the film trying to record a number one hit single, which he gets in the end. He has the help of his manager Joe (Gregor Fisher) and gets to celebrate at an Elton John-hosted party. But Billy Mack doesn’t get the love of another person. 

Jamie and Aurelia

Jamie (Oscar-winner Colin Firth) attended Peter and Juliet’s wedding. He’s got a girlfriend (Sienna Guillroy), who he is shocked to learn is having an affair with his brother. Jaime flees to France, where he falls in love with Aurelia (Lucia Moniz), a Portuguese housekeeper who can’t speak English.

After heading back to England without her, he dedicates himself to learning English and then goes back to France to search for her. While waking through a French town, he pops the question and she says yes. 

Harry, Karen and Mia

The late Alan Rickman starred in Love Actually as Harry, the managing director at a design firm. Although he is married to Karen (Emma Thompson), he becomes fixated on Mia (Heike Makatsch), his new secretary. His office has a Christmas party at Mark’s gallery, where he wonders if Mark is Mia’s boyfriend. That’s not the case.

Harry bought an expensive necklace, which Karen thought was for her. But when she learns that it was for someone else, she is crushed. 

David and Natalie

Hugh Grant stars in the film as David, the British Prime Minister, whose sister is Karen (Emma Thompson). David is paired with Natalie (Martine McCutheon), a new member of the 10 Downing Street household staff. When he meets Natalie during an important visit by the U.S. President (Billy Bob Thornton), he later gives her a different position and the two fall in love.

On Christmas Eve, David rushes to find Natalie, whose next-door neighbor happens to be Mia! They find each other and kiss in the end.  

Daniel, Sam, Joanna and Carol

One of the storylines involves two intertwined couples. Daniel (Liam Neeson), who is a widower, is friends with Karen (Thompson). He also has to raise his stepson Sam (future Game of Thrones actor Thomas Sangster), who is in love with a classmate named Joanna (Olivia Olson). She happens to share the same name as Daniel’s deceased wife. 

Daniel later falls in love with Carol, played by German model Claudia Schiffer. Today, Schiffer is one of the richest models in the world, and is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the model with the most magazine covers. in Love Actually, her character is the mother of one of Sam’s classmates.

Sarah and Karl

Oscar nominee Laura Linney stars in Love Actually as Sarah, who we see at Juliet and Peter’s wedding with a friend. She’s an American working at Harry’s firm and is in love with one of his executives, Karl, played by 300 star Rodrigo Santoro. The Brazilian actor also stars in Westworld and was previously seen in Lost. 

Sarah hopes to start a relationship with Karl, but it never works out. The one time they came close to kissing, her brother called, interrupting the moment. 

Colin and Tony in America

Friends Colin (Kris Marshall) and Tony (Abdul Salis) can’t hit it off with English women. So, they decide to try their luck in Milwaukee, where they think their accents will be an asset to wooing women. They find three women — played by Ivana Milicevic, January Jones and Elisha Cuthbert. They stay at their home, along with a fourth girl, played by Shannon Elizabeth.

Yes, January Jones is in Love Actually long before Mad Men. The future Betty Draper made two other movies in 2003, Anger Management and American Wedding. 

Denise Richards later appears in Love Actually‘s epilogue as the sister of Elizabeth’s character. 

John and Judy

Martin Freeman steps into the world of Love Actually as John, a professional body double. Considering that Freeman is now starring in Marvel movies, he’s likely to need a body double himself!

John works with Judy, played by Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page, in a sex scene. Tony is a production assistant on the film, linking their relationship to the Love Actually web. 

Off-set, the two are shy, but they decide to attend a Christmas pageant that features the children of many of the film’s other characters. 

Rufus

Last but certainly not least is Rufus, played by Mr. Bean himself, Rowan Atkinson. He doesn’t have a love interest, but works as a jewellery salesman who plays a role in the other romances. Perhaps he’s cupid incarnated?

Atkinson should look familiar as Mr. Bean and is considered one of the funniest British comedians ever. Atkinson is currently working on a third Johnny English film.