Liam Neeson opened up about how losing his wife brought back “Love Actually” memories

There’s so much excitement about the upcoming Love Actually sequel. And all that buzz is making us nostalgic for all our favorite characters. But it’s also serving as time to reflect for the film’s actors. So hearing Liam Neeson open up about how filming this Love Actually sequel is making him think of his wife is causing us to feel all sorts of emotions.

In the original 2003 film, Liam Neeson played Daniel, a recent widower raising his wife’s young son, Sam, in London.

In a tragic turn of events, just a few years later, Neeson became a widower himself when he lost his wife, Natasha Richardson. Richardson passed away in 2009 after a ski accident in Quebec, and Neeson became a single father to his sons Michael and Daniel.

Neeson told Entertainment Weekly that returning to Love Actually was a moment of reflection not just for himself, but for all of the cast.

This was in part due to the loss of Alan Rickman, who played Harry in the film, and died of cancer last January.

“It’s 14 years ago now and we’ve all lived lives, Neeson said. “Some of us have died. Oh, my dear old friend Alan Rickman, God rest him. Some have gotten divorced. I’ve lost my wife.

He said in the years since Richardson’s death, he’s thought about the movie’s connections to his own life.

“Plenty of times I’ve thought about this film and my own life, he said. “Love Actually, that’s the way it is. That’s the tapestry of life.

The sequel is part of fundraiser for Red Nose Day. And it originally showed at England’s Comic Relief Jamboree last week. A different version will run in the U.S. on May 25. It will feature Laura Linney, who was not able to participate in the first version.

Love Actually, despite having lackluster results at the box office, has since become a holiday classic. The heartwarming ensemble cast movie has gone on to become a U.S. favorite.

“I don’t think any of us expected it to become a phenomenon, Kiera Knightley told Entertainment Weekly. “But it took on this wonderful following and now it’s almost bigger in America than anywhere else.

We cannot wait to see this movie.