Although it was released well over a decade ago, Love Actually only continues to be a beloved movie for the holidays and beyond. The first massive ensemble project of its kind, Love Actually is a movie that encompasses a variety of intriguing and quirky characters that tug straight at our heart strings. One of the most iconic scenes in the film featured a pre-Walking Dead Andrew Lincoln as an unrequited love interest to Kiera Knightley, complete with signs of love. But what does Rick Grimes really think of the stalker adjacent gesture that makes us all swoon every December?
Andrew Lincoln recently spoke to EW for their Love Actually reunion feature. When asked about his character Mark, Lincoln admitted he may have bordered on being a stalker. He said,
In one of the most romantic movies of all time, I got to play the only guy who doesn't get the girl. The story is set up like a prism looking at all the different qualities of love. Mine was unrequited. So I got to be this weird stalker guy.
So he admits it!
All kidding aside, Andrew Lincoln of course handled his interview with all the enthusiasm and charm that he brings to The Walking Dead every season. He understood the larger narrative of Love Actually focusing on the various types of love, and his was one of the stories that didn't get a happy ending. Although I have to give the Alan Rickman/ Emma Thompson story the award for being the film's saddest plot.
Andrew Lincoln's scene with the notecards is one of the most famous in Love Actually. And while it melts our hearts annually, modern audiences have observed Mark's behavior and kinda creepy. He pulled this big elaborate hoax (complete with fake Christmas Carolers) in order to show up at Kiera Knightley's house unannounced and possibly ruin her new marriage.
Andrew Lincoln seems to be in on the joke, and apparently voiced similar concerns while filming the 2003 hit.
My big scene in the doorway felt so easy. I just had to hold cards and be in love with Keira Knightley. And that was my own handwriting on the cards, thank you for noticing. But I kept saying to Richard [Curtis, the film's writer-director], 'Are you sure I'm not going to come off as a creepy stalker?'
Rick Grimes, always coming through in the end. I guess you can't really play a character without observing their flaws, and Mark's was a slight case of stalking. All in a day.
For those of you who don't remember Andrew Lincoln's big scene (how could you?), you can check it out below.
How can you not love him, despite the mild stalking?
You can currently see Andrew Lincoln in Love Actually on Netflix, and on AMC's The Walking Dead, which just finished its seventh season.
