Love Actually turns 15: the film’s 15 sweetest, funniest and saddest quotes about love
- The British romcom Love Actually hit the screens in 2003, starring Hugh Grant and Keira Knightley
- Also in the film were Alan Rickman, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson
Fifteen years later, Love Actually is still all around.
The Christmas-centric romcom opened on November 7, 2003, and warmed our cold, cynical hearts with a myriad of intersecting love stories.
“It seems to me that love is everywhere,” the British prime minister (Hugh Grant) says in the opening voice-over. “Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there: fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”
We rounded up the 15 best quotes from the film to mark the anniversary: Some made us laugh, others made us cry (for good or bad), but all had something profound to teach us about love.
1. Jamie (Colin Firth) and Aurelia (Lucia Moniz) prove love defies language barriers.
Jamie (in English, to his housekeeper): “It’s my favourite time of day, driving you.”
Aurelia (in Portuguese): “It’s the saddest part of my day, leaving you.”
2. Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) reminds his father that love can be stressful at any stage in life.
Daniel (Liam Neeson): “Aren’t you a bit young to be in love?”
Sam: “No.”
Daniel: “Oh, well, OK, right. Well, I mean, I’m a little relieved.”
Sam: “Why?”
Daniel: “Well, because I thought it would be something worse.”
Sam: “Worse than the total agony of being in love?”
Daniel: “Oh. No, you’re right. Yeah, total agony.”
3. Juliet (Keira Knightley) reminds us that self-love is important, too.
Juliet: “I look quite pretty.”
4. Karen (Emma Thompson) gives her friend some tough love.
Karen to Daniel: “Get a grip, people hate sissies. No one’s ever going to shag you if you cry all the time.”
5. The Prime Minister displays love for his country … and secretly one of his staff members.
Reporter: “Mr. President, has it been a good visit?”
The president (Billy Bob Thornton): “Very satisfactory, indeed. We got what we came for, and our special relationship is still very special.”
Reporter: “Prime Minister?”
The prime minister, after the president made inappropriate comments about Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), a staffer the Prime Minister has a crush on: “I love that word, ‘relationship.’ Covers all manner of sins, doesn’t it? I fear that this has become a bad relationship; a relationship based on the president taking exactly what he wants and casually ignoring all those things that really matter to, um … Britain.
“We may be a small country, but we’re a great one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, The Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham’s right foot. David Beckham’s left foot, come to that. And a friend who bullies us is no longer a friend. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward I will be prepared to be much stronger. And the president should be prepared for that.”
6. Sam points out love is a lot easier if you’re in a band.
Sam: “Girls love musicians, don’t they? Even the really weird ones get girlfriends.”
7. Aurelia appreciates the little quirks.
Aurelia (in Portuguese): “I will miss you. And your very slow typing … and your very bad driving.”
8. Daniel reminds us that rewatching Titanic is always a good idea.
Daniel: “We need Kate, and we need Leo. And we need them now.”
9. Daniel offers some fatherly advice.
Daniel: “Tell her that you love her. You’ve got nothing to lose and you’ll always regret it if you don’t.”
10. Sam shares high praise of his crush.
Sam: “She’s the coolest girl in school and everyone worships her because she’s heaven.”
11. Karen embodies the heartbreak over infidelity.
Harry (Alan Rickman), after discovering his wife knows he bought expensive jewellery for another woman: “God, I am so in the wrong. The classic fool.”
Karen: “Yes, but you’ve also made a fool out of me. You’ve made the life I lead foolish, too.”
12. Mark (Andrew Lincoln) takes a big risk …
Mark, holding up cue cards to confess his true feelings about Juliet without Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor), his best friend and her new husband, hearing him: “But for now, let me say … Without hope or agenda … Just because it’s Christmas … And at Christmas you tell the truth … To me, you are perfect.”
13. … and so does Sam.
Sam: “OK, Dad. Let’s do it. Let’s go get the (expletive) kicked out of us by love.”
14. Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) makes us believe even cynics can find love.
Billy to his manager, Joe (Gregor Fisher): “It’s a terrible mistake, Chubs, but you turn out to be the (expletive) love of my life. And to be honest, despite all my complaining, we have had a wonderful life.”
15. Sam foreshadows the fate of a few couples.
Sam: “The thing about romance is people only get together right at the very end.”
