Love Actually fans still can’t believe Keira Knightley age gap
Universal PicturesIt’s nearly Christmas, which means once again Love Actually fans are pointing out the unbelievable age gap between Keira Knightley and her co-stars in the fan fave Christmas movie.
There are many things synonymous with the festive season: giving gifts; drinking eggnog; awkward family reunions; and filling our stomachs to the brim with turkey and wine.
But just as integral to this time of year are the various Christmas movies on thFe roster, whether that be Die-Hard for the edgier film lovers out there, The Holiday if rom-com is more your style, or A Christmas Story for a traditional experience.
Whatever the case, Love Actually continues to be one of the most beloved yuletide viewings thanks to its ensemble cast and nostalgic effect. With each year since it dropped in 2003, it’s become tradition to pore over the details of the movie, including a jaw-dropping age gap.
Love Actually fans still can’t believe Keira Knightley age gap
Once again, Love Actually fans have taken to social media to point out a rather surprising detail: Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Keira Knightley had an age gap of just five years when filming for the movie took place.
Yes, despite looking like they’re from totally different generations, Knightley, who plays Juliet, was 18 when she appeared in Love Actually, while the Sam star was 13 years old. In the film, Juliet is a newly wed (one who ends up getting “stalked” by her husband’s bestie), while Sam is a lovesick schoolkid.
X/@bluesawadeshoesAlthough we’re reminded of this fact each year, it still never fails to amaze. Taking to X/Twitter, one wrote: “Every christmas I see ‘reminder that there’s only a 5 year gap between Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Keira Knightley’ and every year I google their ages just to make sure and every year the fact is true and every year I am f*cking bamboozled by it. Every f*cking year.”
Not only is their age gap surprising, but the same can be said for the difference between Knighley and her on-screen husband and his friend, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Andrew Lincoln, respectively.
Another X/Twitter user shared side-by-side pictures of Brodie-Sangster, Knightley, Ejiofor, and Lincoln, writing: “Age difference between Keira Knightley and: Andrew Lincoln – 12 years / Chiwetel Ejiofor – 8 years / Thomas Brodie-Sangster – 5 years.”
X/@ElenaBjxrnKnightley’s age on the film has become such a prominent talking point that LADbible recently caught up with Love Actually director Richard Curtis to receive his thoughts about the situation now.
“I’m really interested in whether or not I would think ‘don’t do that’ now. And that actually now we probably wouldn’t have gotten someone as young as Kiera was in,” he told the outlet.
“The great thing now is that everybody is bold enough to say anything they don’t particularly like in what you do – kind of gives you a filter these days.
“But on the other hand, I’m thrilled we cast Keira because I thought she was perfect. And I don’t think she reads in the film as being a teenager, I think she reads as being about 23. But it’s interesting that they were far apart.”
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