Love Actually's Martine McCutcheon shares Christmas traditions and why her role was a ‘dream come true’
Pictured: Martine McCutcheon at the launch of One4all's 2022 Christmas Campaign.
It’s highly likely that Martine McCutcheon will appear on TV screens in our homes at least once this Christmas as the 2003 hit continues to be a festive staple for many families.
The actress, who plays Hugh Grant’s on-screen love interest Natalie, describes the role as a “dream come true” and even after almost 20 years since its release, is a film close to many of our hearts — including McCutcheon’s.
“My dream when I was a kid when I saw was to work with Richard Curtis [the director] and Hugh Grant. I wanted to make a film like that with those guys. That was my ultimate dream,” says the 46-year-old.
“I still pinch myself and I still can’t believe that I was part of that movie," she says of
She “cannot believe” that it has been 20 years since she wrapped up filming for the much-loved rom-com, but she keeps in touch with her co-stars, including Hugh Grant.
“I can only explain it like a university set of close friends that have been part of this special part of your life, this journey that no one else has been on — that can remember it the way you remember it.”
McCutcheon has teamed up with One4all to help the nation avoid family dramas this festive season and has shared some of her own Christmas traditions with her family, including the role of her husband, singer-songwriter Jack McManus.
Speaking at the launch of the One4All Christmas Campaign, she says: “We are massively just up for a hoot in our household at Christmas. My mum and Jack normally argue about the cooking because Jack is a really good cook. My mum is an amazing cook and she’s supposed to be sous chef but then, as she has another pink gin, she wants to take over," she says.
“That’s going to be the dynamic in the kitchen but there’s music playing the whole time. The whole time in our house, there’s music blaring and it’s all around the house. It’s fun, and we just want to have a good, fun time.”
Her husband Jack McManus’ side of the family hails from Limerick while her roots are in Longford and Waterford, so Christmas means a big gathering, plenty of singsongs, and a couple of “G&Ts”.
It’s the couple's son, seven-year-old Rafferty, who will bring the “real magic” but McCutcheon says she is "like a five-year-old" when it comes to opening Christmas presents.
“Every Christmas Eve at midnight, we’re allowed to open a present because we love presents in our family. By then, we might have had a couple of G&Ts,” she says.
“I can’t wait for that. I’m like a five-year-old. The other tradition is that we always try to go and light a candle for our loved ones on Christmas Eve…and reflect and think about the year and what we’re grateful for.
“Then we always go on Christmas Eve to our little local butchers, and we have a little drink with him. He’s always dancing in the butchers. We always get our turkey from him — he’s really lovely."
The star usually hosts Christmas for the family and while her husband is cooking in the kitchen, she likes to put on Christmas music and make “everything look beautiful”.
“We always dress up on Christmas Day but then normally, come about six o'clock, we’re out of the outfit and we’re in all our comfy jim-jams.”
As for another Christmas tradition, has stood the test of time and she believes it will continue to do so and resonate with generations to come.
"It amazes me that maybe Rafferty’s children or his children’s children, should he have them, might see their grandma in this movie. Or when I’m gone. It's pretty powerful," she says.
“I can be very sceptical, but even for me, that movie makes me believe in the good stuff and I think love is the closest thing to magic that we get and we need more of it.”
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