Teaser:
Love Actually (opens in new tab) features the lead actors from another well-known movie. I'll leave you pondering that thought. More on that later...
Cameos
Can you name all of the Love Actually (opens in new tab) cameos? No doubt you can reel off Claudia Schiffer (opens in new tab), Rowan Atkinson (opens in new tab), Denise Richards (opens in new tab), Billy Bob Thornton (opens in new tab). And with some more thought you can probably come up with Shannon Elizabeth (opens in new tab), Parky (opens in new tab), Ant & Dec (opens in new tab) and Jo Whiley (opens in new tab). But did you know that soul singer Ruby Turner (opens in new tab) stars as schoolkid Joanna's mother? And, did you spot French actress Jeanne Moreau (opens in new tab) in the scene at Marseilles airport?
Bernard
Are you aware that writer/director Richard Curtis (opens in new tab) always makes a mockery of a character called Bernard in his films and sitcoms?
Four Weddings and a Funeral (opens in new tab) has David Hague (opens in new tab)'s buffoon-like Bernard marrying Lydia in the second wedding. In Bridget Jones's Diary (opens in new tab) Dominic McHale (opens in new tab)'s Bernard also falls victim to that fancy dress party mix-up. In Bean (opens in new tab), there's Sandra Oh (opens in new tab)'s Bernice. In Notting Hil (opens in new tab)l, Hugh Bonneville (opens in new tab)'s Bernie bumbles his way through numerous social blunders with actress Anna Scott (Julia Roberts (opens in new tab)). I have to admit that I can't find an obvious Bernard in The Boat That Rocked (opens in new tab), but I'm now going to have to revisit it. I bet there's one in there somewhere.
And then there's the TV shows. In Blackadder (opens in new tab), Nursie's real name is Bernard. And in The Vicar of Dibley (opens in new tab), five of Alice and Hugo's children are named Bernard.
So where is the Bernard in Love Actually?
Well, it's actually Bernie - the son of Karen (Emma Thompson (opens in new tab)) and Harry (Alan Rickman (opens in new tab)) - played by William Wadham (opens in new tab). But this character appears to escape the Curtis mockery because his big scene was deleted.
Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsD-6LHgN90&fs=1
By the way, the reason for Curtis's obsession with this name is apparently because he had a love rival called Bernard in his younger days.
The Missing Story:
Did you know that there was another love story planned for this episodic film featuring the Anne Reid (opens in new tab) character from the above clip?
Here it is, complete with Richard Curtis (opens in new tab)'s explanation for its deletion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ao_heePixQ&fs=1
Such a shame it didn't stay in. I'd have picked that above the silly Colin Frissell (Kris Marshall (opens in new tab)) and the American girls sketches any day.
Actually watching Love Actually:
It's essential festive season viewing in my household. Check out my favourite Love Actually moments here. (opens in new tab)
If you haven't yet watched Love Actually this Christmas, then check it out tonight, Thursday 30th December, on ITV2 at 10.45pm.
Teaser Answer:
And finally, the answer to my opening teaser - which big movie shares its four lead actors with Love Actually?
Sense and Sensibility (opens in new tab) is the answer. Clearly Hugh Grant (opens in new tab), Emma Thompson (opens in new tab) and Alan Rickman (opens in new tab) star, but remember, Kate Winslet (opens in new tab) also features in that scene where Daniel (Liam Neeson (opens in new tab)) and Sam (Thomas Sangster (opens in new tab)) act out the 'I'm the King of the Waves' scene from Titanic (opens in new tab)!
