Emma Thompson reveals what she thinks of her heartbreaking Love Actually scene 20 years later – and what ‘terrifying’ role left her with ‘shaking legs’
Emma Thompson has revealed she still has deep feelings about her role in classic rom-com Love Actually.
The 2003 film, due to celebrate its 20th anniversary, Thompson played a wife who sobbed uncontrollably after discovering that her husband had bought jewelry for another woman and realized he was cheating on her.
The 63-year-old says she still remembers how she felt when she filmed the scene alongside the late Alan Rickman.
Emma Thompson (pictured) has revealed she still has deep feelings about her role in classic rom-com Love Actually
“Yeah, you remember the feelings you had back then,” she told Stellar Magazine this week.
Thompson previously revealed she was so compelling in the film following a personal experience – having her heart “very badly broken” by her first husband Kenneth Branagh.
Once the golden couple of British cinema, nicknamed Ken and Em, they separated after eight years together when he began an affair with Helena Bonham Carter.
The 2003 film, due to celebrate its 20th anniversary, Thompson played a wife who sobbed uncontrollably after discovering that her husband had bought jewelry for another woman and realized he was cheating on her. Photographed in love actually
“That scene where my character is standing by the bed crying is so well known because it’s something everyone has experienced,” she said.
“I had my heart very badly broken by Ken. Then I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn’t meant for me.
“Well, it wasn’t exactly that, but we’ve all been there.”
Love Actually was written and directed by Curtis and premiered in November 2003 to mixed reviews from critics.
The 63-year-old says she still remembers how she felt when she filmed the scene alongside the late Alan Rickman (right)
But it was well received by audiences and has since become a modern-day Christmas classic.
Elsewhere in the Stellar interview, Thompson reveals her most “terrifying” role is her most recent, in the upcoming film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical.
The Cruella star had to stand on a high platform to shoot CGI scenes and she was left very flustered.
Elsewhere in the Stellar interview, Thompson reveals her most “terrifying” role is her most recent, in the upcoming film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical.
‘I will remember being 80 feet away [24 metres] on that structure and looking down, and all the kids were there,” she recalls.
“They were like, ‘Everything will be fine.’ My legs were shaking and we were all singing live. For me, it was such an exciting thing to do, but also terrifying.
“So that’s what will stick with me from Matilda The Musical,” the Late Night actress said.
Matilda The Musical by Roald Dahl will be streaming on Netflix from December 25.
Read more in this week’s issue of Stellar Magazine
