‘The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually’: Diane Sawyer and Thomas Brodie-Sangster Were Nearly Arrested While Filming the ABC Special
A movie about love in all its glory, Love Actually has become a holiday tradition for many the world over. In 2022, Diane Sawyer revisited the magic of the beloved film in her ABC special, The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later. But the special was interrupted when Sawyer nearly got arrested while interviewing actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster.
How to watch Diane Sawyer’s ‘The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later’
The Laughter and Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later originally aired on ABC on November 29, 2022. Following its premiere, the special became available to stream on FuboTV, Sling, and Hulu+Live TV. Beginning November 30, the special also became available to those with a regular Hulu subscription.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster played the young, love-struck Sam in ‘Love Actually‘
Now a veteran actor with credits like Game of Thrones and The Queen’s Gambit under his belt, Brodie-Sangster recalls how “small and new” he was when filming Love Actually. His character, Sam, was a young boy. He’d recently lost his mother and finds himself looking to his stepfather for advice on his school crush. Looking back now, Brodie-Sangster remembers how much of a father figure Liam Neeson (who played Sam’s stepfather) was to him during filming.
“Liam was amazing. He treated me like his son,” the actor said (via People). Brodie-Sangster added, “He was absolutely loving to me. He just created this environment where I was very comfortable.”
Returning to the filming location where young Sam tells his stepfather he’s in love, Sawyer and Brodie-Sangster conducted their interview on that London city bench. The interview was cut short, however, when Sawyer’s film crew was interrupted by the city’s police.
During the special, a crew member is seen telling Sawyer of a permitting issue and relays a threat from the police “to arrest” them if they don’t leave. The veteran interviewer took the whole incident in stride, however, joking with Brodie-Sangster by saying, “now we run.”
More secrets behind ‘Love Actually‘
Over the years, much has come to light behind the filming of Love Actually. Laura Linney revealed to ET in 2019 that the lusty scene between her character Sarah and Rodrigo Santoro’s Karl was made even better by the pair’s real recent heartaches. (Both actors had been dumped not long before filming that scene).
Fans will also be delighted to know that the iconic cue cards that Andrew Lincoln’s Mark uses to profess his love for Keira Knightley’s Juliet are, in fact, written by him. And the hat Knightley dons when tempting Lincoln’s Mark with Banoffee Pie? It was actually to hide a pimple on her forehead.
But perhaps the biggest secret uncovered about the filming of Love Actually is that Hugh Grant (who plays the charming Prime Minister) actually hated his dance scene. The actor claims that many share in his mortification over his dance moves. But there are likely few that feel their holiday complete without watching Grant shake it all through his house.
But the real secret to Love Actually is no secret at all. As Emma Thompson (who plays the heartbroken Karen) tells Sawyer during her interview, “We forget, time and time again we forget, that love is all around us. It’s all that matters” (via IMDb). And it is love, in all its mess and majesty, that has made the film an undeniable holiday classic.
