When news first broke that director Richard Curtis was working on a short sequel to “Love Actually” for the U.K.’s Red Nose Day event, fans were ecstatic to learn that the majority of the original cast was set to return. But it soon became clear that Emma Thompson would not be among them, and as the actress explains in a new interview, it’s because of another costar who can’t be there.
While speaking with the Press Association (via The Guardian), Thompson confirmed that the reason why she wouldn’t be appearing in what’s being dubbed “Red Nose Day Actually” is due to the death of her friend and frequent costar, Alan Rickman. Rickman, who passed away last year at age 69, played Thompson’s unfaithful husband in “Love Actually,” and Curtis had already confirmed that there wouldn’t be a tribute to the late actor in the new segment.
As the actress explained to the Press Association, she and Curtis both agreed that it wouldn’t make much sense to include her character in the reunion with Rickman’s glaring absence looming over the proceedings.
“Richard wrote to me and said, ‘Darling, we can’t write anything for you because of Alan’, and I said, ‘No, of course, it would be sad, too sad,’” Thompson said. “It’s too soon. It’s absolutely right because it’s supposed to be for Comic Relief but there isn’t much comic relief in the loss of our dear friend, really, just over a year ago. We thought and thought [about it] but it just seemed wrong. It was absolutely the right decision.”
It sounds like Curtis and Thompson made the right decision. Now excuse us, we have something in our eyes…
The “Love Actually” sequel will air during the U.K.’s Red Nose Day telecast on March 24.
While most of the original cast of 2003 rom-com “
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