Two Surprising Hollywood Stars Will Join The American Love Actually Sequel

andrew lincoln laura linney love actually

by Katie Rosseinsky |
Published on

When the Comic Relief Love Actually sequel aired back in March, it did a remarkably good job of showing us where the majority of our favourite characters ended up, 13 years on.

But while director Richard Curtis managed to gather together original cast members including (deep breath) Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Liam Neeson and Andrew Lincoln (plus a surprise cameo from Kate Moss) for the 10 minute special, some familiar faces were missing from the line-up.

READ MORE: Love Actually: 20 Things We Learned From The Comic Relief Sequel

Emma Thompson explained that she wouldn't be taking part as the death of her co-star Alan Rickman (the pair played a husband and wife in one of the most heartbreaking storylines from the 2003 film) made the prospect 'too sad,' but what about Laura Linney?

laura linney hugh grant love actually premiere
Laura Linney and Hugh Grant at the Love Actually premiere ©Getty Images

Love Actually aficionados will remember the American actress as Sarah, a woman working at Harry (Alan Rickman)'s company who has long nursed an office crush on her good-looking co-worker Karl, as played by Rodrigo Santoro. However, a romance between the two eventually flounders when Karl apparently can't fathom the fact that Sarah needs to take care of her brother, who is mentally ill. Ugh, Karl.

While the British sequel didn't give us any closure on this particular storyline, American fans have an extra reason to look forward to Red Nose Day Actually: they'll (actually) be getting extra scenes starring Laura Linney.

laura linney rodrigo santoro love actually
Laura Linney and Rodrigo Santoro in Love Actually

'I’d done something for the last Red Nose Day. So I’d kept in touch with Richard Curtis,' the actress told EW. 'And then he sent me an e-mail, explaining this short film reunion. I said yes, obviously. How could I say no? And right away we were figuring out our schedules.'

Laura filmed her scenes last month, and it's now been revealed that her character Sarah has found love with none other than Patrick Dempsey (or, at least, a character played by Patrick Dempsey), of Grey's Anatomy and Bridget Jones' Baby fame. Screenwriter Emma Freud shared the news with her Twitter followers, posting a brief behind the scenes clip which shows Dempsey filming in a kitchen set.

We're just glad to learn that Sarah has finally found a worthier object of her affections than Karl the enigmatic chief designer (who is one of the many, many terrible people that make up Love Actually's secondary cast).

Dempsey isn't the only Hollywood star to join the US Love Actually special: Ben Affleck (yes, really) is another new addition to the Richard Curtis universe. As yet, the details of his involvement are being kept secret, with makes this particular cameo all the more intriguing. Roll on May 25th, we say...

Red Nose Day Actually will air on NBC in the US on May 25th.

READ MORE: Love Actually: Then And Now

READ MORE: 36 Things You Definitely Didn't Know About Love Actually

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