Richard Curtis finally reveals the occupation of Keira Knightley’s character in ‘Love Actually’

‘I think it’s very clear from the set design,’ writer-director insisted

Richard Curtis has finally revealed the profession of Juliette, played by Keira Knightley, in the 2003 Christmas classic Love Actually.

Curtis’s daughter, Scarlett Curtis, posted a poll on social media, asking her followers whether they knew about Juliette’s occupation. 96 per cent of her followers said they didn’t, while only four per cent said they did.

In a later video posted on Instagram, Curtis is asked by his daughter what Juliette’s job was intended to be.

Curtis explained that he thought it was obvious, considering the set design of Juliette’s apartment.

"I’m hurt that you don’t know,” Curtis told his daughter.

“I think it’s very clear from the set design, while he’s [Peter, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor] making the phone call to Andrew Lincoln [Mark], that she has worked for quite a long time as an interior decorator.”

When asked how he came up with the idea, Curtis admitted that there wasn’t much thought behind Knightley’s character.

"I think it’s more a question that when we said, well, in, then we’re doing this scene where she makes a phone call to Andrew Lincoln," he recalled.

The 66-year-old filmmaker: "Everyone panicked and said, ‘What kind of a room is she going to be making the phone call from?’ And I said, ‘Well, how about, like, maybe she’s an interior decorator, and so there’s lots of swatches and some paint colours’.”

Curtis recently admitted that the lack of diversity in the 2003 film now makes him feel “uncomfortable and a bit stupid”.

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Curtis’s comments about diversity came during an interview in the new one-hour special, The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later, which was broadcast on US network ABC on Tuesday (29 November).

“My film is bound in some moments to feel out of date,” he said.

The romantic comedy Love Actually tells 10 separate yet interwoven love stories set against the backdrop of London at Christmas. It stars Emma Thompson, Martin Freeman, Colin Firth, Rowan Atkinson, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, among others.

Curtis added: “There is such extraordinary love that goes on every minute in so many ways, all the way around the world, and makes me wish my film was better.”