Love Actually has been a Christmas movie classic for over 20 years, but a lot about the movie hasn’t aged well, especially when considering the ages of some of the movie’s stars. Released in 2003, the film follows 10 different stories about love and the holiday spirit around Christmastime in London. With this many storylines, Love Actually features an all-star ensemble cast not only of top-tier British acting royalty like Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson, but also young up-and-coming talent. One breakout star of Love Actually is Thomas Brodie Sangster, who played the besotted schoolboy Sam.

While Sam is full of childlike innocence, Sangster plays up the character’s old soul charm, and his is one of Love Actually‘s most beloved storylines. As this was the first role I and many others saw Sangster in, we’re curious about how old he was when he filmedt the movie. The answer itself isn’t exactly shocking, but when I learned how close he is in age to his Love Actually co-star Keira Knightley, who has a much more mature storyline, my jaw hit the floor.

Thomas Brodie Sangster Was 13 & Keira Knightley Was 17 While Filming Love Actually

The Age Gap Isn’t Big, But Their Characters Are Worlds Apart

Thomas Brodie Sangster was 13 when he played Sam, the stepson of Daniel (Liam Neeson), in the beloved Christmas film. Sam is an average middle school kid trying to win the affection of a girl while dealing with the death of his mother. Sangster’s story is the only kid-centric story in the film, and the fact that the actor looked a lot younger than his age helped sell it, as he could easily pᴀss for eleven or twelve. At least he is close enough in age to his love interest, Olivia Olson, who was eleven years old when she played Joanna.

On the other hand, though Keira Knightley was 18 when the Love Actually was released, she was only 17 years old when she actually played Juliet, who marries Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Peter and is pined after by Andrew Lincoln’s Mark. Meanwhile, Knightley’s romantic male co-stars were both significantly older than her, with Ejiofer being about 25 years old and Lincoln almost 30 at the time.

Although Knightley certainly does an excellent job playing a newlywed, it’s hard for viewers to forget that she’s still only a teenager in the film. Case in point: the reason why Knightley wears a huge blue hat in the film was to cover a large pimple on her forehead (via Today). Knowing that, all I see is a teenager when I watch Knightley in Love Actually, which makes it harder to stomach the idea of her as a blushing bride.

Knightley’s Young Age Makes Her Love Actually Storyline Age Poorly

She’s Described It As “Stalkerish”

Love Actually‘s cue card scene has definitely aged poorly, and it turns out that Knightley herself had a problem with it even then. In the scene, Andrew Lincoln’s Mark character tries to win the love of Knightley’s recently married Juliet by showing up at her door and confessing his feelings for her on cue cards. Knightley said (via Los Angeles Times),

The slightly stalkerish aspect of it — I do remember that. My memory is of [director] Richard [Curtis], who is now a very dear friend, of me doing the scene, and him going, “No, you’re looking at [Lincoln] like he’s creepy,” and I’m like [in a dramatic whisper], “But it is quite creepy.” And then having to redo it to fix my face to make him seem not creepy.

Lincoln, who was on the other side of the Love Actually cue card scene, also admitted that the interaction has not aged well, especially considering Knightley’s age. In an interview with The Wrap, Lincoln discussed how he had questioned the scene with director Richard Curtis, saying: “Do you not think we’re sort of borderline stalker territory here?” Apparently, Curtis did not see an issue with the scene until years after the film was released. When looking back on Love Actually, Curtis admitted that the cue card scene is weird.

Thomas Brodie Sangster Has Grown Up In Movies & TV

He’s Appeared In Game Of Thrones, The Maze Runner & The Queen’s Gambit

After Love Actually, Thomas Brodie Sangster found success in both film and television. He has certainly taken on more adult roles after playing Liam Neeson’s son. Notably, Sangster appeared in the early seasons of HBO’s megahit series, Game of Thrones, as Jojen Reed. But Game of Thrones is not Sangster’s only appearance in a major franchise, as he appeared in the Maze Runner movies and was the voice of Ferb in the first four seasons of the beloved Disney Channel show Phineas and Ferb.

Franchises aside, Sangster is award-nominated. He plays Benny Watts in the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. In his personal life, Sangster married actress Talulah Riley in June 2024. No, Thomas Brodie Sangster is not a kid anymore, and while he will always be beloved for Love Actually, his career has grown far past the iconic Christmas movie.