UK actor
Keira Knightley recalled filming the iconic cue card scene from the 2003 Christmas rom-com Love Actually was kinda "creepy."
The Richard Curtis-directed film featured a mostly British who's who of famous actors and young up-and-comers playing characters in various stages of relationships featured in separate storylines that eventually interconnect.
One of the storylines follows the wedding of Juliet and Peter, played by Keira Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor respectively, and Andrew Lincoln's videographer character, Mark who is cold towards Juliet but is secretly in love with her.
The repressed desire and tension culminate in the famous scene in which Mark visits Juliet and professes his love for her via cue cards while Peter is home upstairs watching telly.
For a quick refresh, here's the scene.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
While audiences at the time thought it was a sweet and romantic gesture, the scene has now sparked debate given Juliet and Mark's 12-year-age gap.
While promoting her new Netflix series Black Doves with the Los Angeles Times, Knightley, 39, touched on Love Actually when the interviewer joked they were required to ask about the holiday cult classic given the Christmas season.
When asked to weigh in about the now controversial cue card scene, Knightley recalled:
"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."
"I mean, there was a creep factor at the time, right?"
She added, "Also, I knew I was 17. It only seems like a few years ago that everybody else realized I was 17.
Redditors responded to a thread about the age gap, saying they had no idea.
@themanfromvulcan/Reddit
@buffysmanycoats/Reddit
@jadelikethestone/Reddit
Some moviegoers claimed ignorance was bliss.
Others, however, knew something about the scene was way off while fans were swept up in the romanticism of it all.
Knightley told the newspaper that she only saw Love Actually only one time, which is a common practice for her in the movies she's done.
"It's nothing against Love Actually," she said, adding:
"It’s lovely because it didn’t do as well as everyone thought it was going to when it came out. Suddenly, like three or four years later, it sort of took on a life of its own."
"It’s the only film I’ve had that found this life afterward. The problem is, I was on it for about five days. I was 17, so I don’t actually have any memory whatsoever of it."
In Black Doves, Knightley plays Helen Webb, the wife of the Secretary of State for Defence. She leads a double life as a "Black Dove," a spy who has been feeding information to a mercenary organization.
The spy thriller series was created by Joe Barton. The show, also starring Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire, was renewed for a second season.
