Love, in fact, might not be the best way to describe one of Keira Knightley's most iconic film scenes.
The controversial actress was just 17 when she joined the star-studded cast of “Love Actually,” the 2003 romantic Christmas movie that is synonymous with the holiday season.
Despite its popularity, Knightley admits he doesn't remember much of his time on set.
“Most of my films I've never seen or I've only seen them once. So there's nothing against 'Love Actually.' “It's interesting because it didn't turn out as well as everyone thought it would when it suddenly came out, three or four years later, and it took its own life,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
'PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN' STAR KEIRA KNIGHTLEY SAYS 'PUBLICLY BREAKED DOWN,' AFTER FILMING.
Keira Knightley was one of the few main characters in the 2003 Christmas movie, “Love Actually.” (Photos by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty)
“It's the only film I've had that got this life later. The problem is, I was in it for about five days. I was 17, so I really have no memory of it.”
Keira Knightley says “Love Actually” is the only project of hers that has touched the audience before its first release. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
The film, which weaves its characters through a variety of love stories, features a newlywed couple, Juliet and Peter, played by Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor, respectively. Their wedding is photographed by Peter's best man, Mark (played by Andrew Lincoln), who is secretly in love with Juliet.
In what is now an iconic image, Mark arrives at Juliet's door to declare his love for her, index cards by his side. Standing outside the couple's door with a boombox playing “Silent Night,” unbeknownst to his friend Peter, Mark tells Juliet to read the cards, telling him his true feelings.
Andrew Lincoln, who portrays Mark in “Love Actually,” shuffles through a series of cards to reveal his love for Juliet (played by Keira Knightley). (Most film/image via Alamy Stock)
The scene hasn't aged well, with many admitting a strange undertone of inappropriateness, one that Knightley can recall hearing on set and speaking to director Richard Curtis.
“Its hidden feature – I do remember that,” Knightley showed filming. “My memory is Richard, who is now a dear friend of mine, doing the scene, and saying, 'No, you're watching. [Lincoln] like he's scary,' and I'm like, 'But it is is something it's scary.'
“Then I have to redo it to fix my face so he doesn't look scared,” she added.
Keira Knightley said that during filming in 2003, she expressed her concerns with director Richard Curtis. (Universal Collection/Courtesy Everett)
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“I mean, there it was something creepy at the time, right?” Knightley, now 39, said. “And, I knew I was 17. It seems like a few years ago everyone the rest I realized I was 17,” she said of her age at the time of filming. Lincoln, whom her character Juliet runs up to and kisses, was 29 at the time.
Lincoln, for his part, recalled having similar concerns in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2017.
“I kept saying to Richard, 'Are you sure I'm not going to be a terrible striker?'” he said.
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In 2023, Richard gave an interview to The Independent where he acknowledged the strange nature of the scene.
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“I think it's weird. I mean, I remember being surprised about seven years ago, I was going to be interviewed by somebody and he said, 'Yeah, we're very interested in the stalker scene,' and I said, 'What scene is that? ?' And then I was, like, I learned from it,” he said. “All I can say is that a lot of smart people were involved in this film at the time, and we didn't think it was a human scene.”
Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Colin Firth also appeared in the film.
