Even if you're a Love Actually hater, there's one scene in the film that's undeniably moving. When Karen, played by Emma Thompson, realises the necklace bought by her husband Harry, played by the late Alan Rickman, wasn't for her, she excuses herself to the bedroom and lets it all out. She puts on Joni Mitchell and cries, before wiping away the tears and putting on a smile. It's heartbreaking — and it turns out, it was also influenced by a real experience.
"I've had so much bloody practice at crying in a bedroom," Thompson said at a fundraiser Sunday, according The Telegraph. "Then having to go out and be cheerful, gathering up the pieces of my heart and putting them in a drawer."
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Oof. One of Thompson's most public breakups was with actor Kenneth Branagh. The two separated in 1995 after he allegedly had an affair with Helena Bonham Carter on the set of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Fun fact, all three of these actors went on to be in the Harry Potter series, but you'll notice you never see them on screen together.
"I had my heart very badly broken by Ken," Thompson continued.. "So I knew what it was like to find the necklace that wasn't meant for me. Well, it wasn't exactly that, but we've all been through it."
But, don't worry. She's not still broken up about it. In fact, she has a really refreshing attitude towards Bonham Carter.
"That is all blood under the bridge," she added. "You can't hold on to anything like that. It's pointless. I haven't got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago. She's a wonderful woman."
Let's hope Thompson's character in Love Actually eventually found this same peace.
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