Love Actually Casting Director Calls Keira Knightley Most Similar to Her ‘Lovely,’ ‘Open’ Character (Exclusive)

When it came to finding the right actors to cast Actually lovecasting director Fiona Weir considered herself “lucky” that the process was so easy.

In an interview with PEOPLE on the 20th anniversary of the holiday classic, Weir says many of the actors they had in mind were similar to their characters in real life — for example, Keira Knightley, who played the sultry Juliet and “was very similar to her role . ”

“[Writer/director Richard Curtis] I wanted Juliet to just be a lovely, relaxed, outgoing person,” Weir tells PEOPLE. “And that was absolutely Keira. She was a wonderful creature who was wonderful, kind and open to everyone.”

“And also Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays her husband — just, like, the perfect guy. He was very similar to his role,” she continues. “But they’re all wonderful actors, so I think they all find a part of themselves in every role. That’s what great actors do: connect the role to something inside of them.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling people-interest stories.

Enter Keira Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor Actually love (2003). Everett

Actually love It’s 20! Casting Director for ‘Most Challenging’ Role to Cast, Alan Rickman’s ‘Complexity’ (Exclusive)

IN actually love viewers are introduced to Juliet and Peter (played by Ejiofor, now 46) on their wedding day, when it is revealed that Peter’s best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln) has secretly hired a band to perform The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” while the newlyweds they leave the church.

But things go awry when Juliet shows up at Peter’s apartment unannounced and demands to see the wedding video he shot—only to find that every scene is herself, revealing to Juliet and the audience his unrequited feelings for her. Then comes the famous hint scene where Mark confirms his feelings for Juliet and decides to live with them as she and Peter live happily ever after.

Although Peter and Juliet do not end up romantically together in the film (despite a brief kiss), Lincoln’s character has a happy ending, as described in Actually love mini-sequel released in honor of Red Nose Day 2017: He ended up married to Kate Moss.

Knightley, now 38, was just 18 at the time Actually love premiered just a few months after her hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

“When we cast her as Juliet, she was very young. I think she just finished Bend It Like Beckham” Weir recalls to PEOPLE. “So everyone thought she was older than she was because she was acting from a very young age. But this was one of her first adult roles.”

Enter Andrew Lincoln and Keira Knightley Actually love (2003).

Cinematheque/Shutterstock

Viral tweet about Keira Knightley and Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s age in ‘Love Actually’ shocks fans

As for other casting decisions, Weir says that both she and her casting director Mary Selway — who died in 2004, just months after the film was released — “were very excited about the idea of ​​Bill Nighy” playing Billy. Mack, a failed rock and roll star who scores a surprise hit during the holidays and soon realizes how much he appreciates his longtime manager Joe (Gregor Fisher).

“That’s why he immediately stood out to us [part]because we knew he was going to bring so much fun and so much irony and wit, and a kind of hug to it [Billy] to be funny but also kind of self-deprecating,” she says of Nighy, 73. “So that was a part where we thought very quickly, ‘Oh my God, he’d be wonderful. Wouldn’t it be great if we could make that happen?’ ”

Overall, Weir says he assembled an extensive, star-studded cast Actually love – others included Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Martin Freeman, Laura Linney, Olivia Olson and Rodrigo Santoro — “it was one of those nice processes where everyone we wanted said yes.”

“It’s quite unusual and very special,” she adds. “I don’t feel like we missed anybody.”

Actually love streaming on Netflix.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education