Right, here's a question for you... Did you know the profession of Keira Knightley's character in the classic festive romcom, Love Actually?
In the nearly two-decade-old movie, British actress Keira played the role of newly-wed Juliet, who realised that her husband's best friend Mark (played by Andrew Lincoln) was secretly in love with her. And while we can remember her character's storyline primarily for the swoon-worthy cards on her doorstep scene, did you ever actually figure out what Juliet did for a living? Because, to be honest, we had no idea. Words that Love Actually director Richard Curtis wasn't too happy to hear because, according to him, Juliet's profession was "very clear" from the set design.
‘I didn’t fancy doing the dance at all, let alone rehearsing it,’ actor said
In a new Instagram reel shared by Richard's television writer daughter Scarlett, she quizzed him on Juliet's job, writing in the caption: “THE BIG REVEAL - a week ago me and Dad got in a fight because he claimed it was very clear what Keira Knightley's job in Love Actually was and I fervently disagreed. I took it to the people and they wanted an answer. Here it is. Happy Christmas.”
Instagram content
Responding to his daughter on video, 66-year-old Richard said: "I'm hurt that you don't know. I think it's very clear from the set design while she's making the phone call to Andrew Lincoln that she has worked for quite a long time as an interior decorator."
He also explained that deciding on Juliet's job as an interior decorator was a last-minute, "panicked" decision, and they quickly decided to include some swatches and paint from the room she was making her phone call to Mark from. However, an intrigued Scarlett quizzed her father on how the character, who was meant to be 18 years old like Keira was when she filmed the role, broke into such a coveted industry so young.
"I'm repeatedly surprised [when I hear] that Keira was only 18. My feeling is that her performance is that of a 23-year-old, so she's had time to establish herself in that particular trade," Richard replied.
Scarlett also continued to hammer home her point that Juliet's career was not clear, as she said in a poll to her Instagram followers 96 per cent of people also had no idea what her job was.
So, where do you stand on this debate? Was Juliet's profession in Love Actually clear to you, or did you have no idea until this point? Either way, it doesn't dampen the fact that it's one of our favourite go-to Christmas comfort films!
Rickman wasn’t particularly fond of this much-loved scene.
.jpg)
