Love Actually fans are shocked over the age gap between Keira Knightley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster.
The hit festive film, directed by Richard Curtis, is a modern Christmas classic and is watched by fans every holiday season.
Upon its release in 2003, the movie grossed a whopping $246 million on a budget of around $40-45 million.
The film follows a number of intertwining plots about love and relationships in the build-up to Christmas.
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One of the movie’s storylines involves a bride named Juliet (played by Knightly) and how her husband’s best man from their wedding is crazily in love with her.
While another plot in the film follows Sam (Brodie-Sangster) as a student who has a crush on a classmate he has never spoken to.
From these descriptions, you’d think they’d have a huge age gap, but it turns out that there are only five years between them.
Knightly was only 18 when Love Actually was made, while Brodie-Sangster was 13 years old.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star was closer in age to him than she was to her on-screen husband Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave), who was 26 at the time.
Viewers are only just realising this and are expressing disbelief on social media.
One viewer shared: “The fact that Keira Knightley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster looked like this in Love Actually and they were only five years apart in age will never not amaze me.”
A second fan added: “Watching Love Actually (since it’s Christmas) and all I can think about is how there’s only a five-year age gap between Keira Knightley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster.”
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“I was today years old when I learned that there is only a five-year age difference between Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Keira Knightley in Love Actually,” said another viewer.
A fourth person mentioned: “I still can’t believe the age difference between Keira Knightley and Thomas Sangster in Love Actually was just 5 YEARS.
“I really thought Tom was like 8 years old and Keira was like, I don’t know, 22 back then? How clueless I was.”
A fifth viewer added: “Just found out that I’m the last person to learn there was only a five-year age gap between Thomas Brodie-Sangster (13) and Keira Knightley (18) when they filmed Love Actually.
“I will not be taking questions at this time.”
Yearly reminder that there is only a five year age gap between Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Keira Knightley in Love Actually pic.twitter.com/d9fLRk4ddF
— Craig (@thefultonizer) December 9, 2021
Alongside Knightly, Brodie-Sangster, and Ejiofor, Love Actually stars a number of huge names.
Hugh Grant (Notting Hill), Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List), Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Alan Rickman (Harry Potter), Joanna Page (Gavin & Stacey), Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), Martin Freeman (Sherlock), and Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo) all appear in the film.
Despite coming out to mixed reviews, the festive rom-com remains popular and is countlessly rewatched every year.
Allan Hunter, writing for Screen International, said in his film review: “A polished, fluid production with impeccable technical credits and a winning soundtrack, Love Actually is the very definition of entertainment and is guaranteed to bring joy to the world this Christmas.”
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