When Love Actually was released in 2003, it changed the game for holiday movies. Several different stories set around the holiday season in England connected in surprising and heartfelt ways. Producers tried to replicate the feel of the movie — and its massive ensemble cast — with other films, but no film has quite captured the magic of the season, love, and family the way Love Actually has.
Fans have been interested in a sequel for years, and though we can’t give them that, we can explore the personalities of ten of the characters to see just where they’d fit in at Hogwarts. Sure, some of the actors appeared in the Harry Potter franchise as well, but they played vastly different people.
David: Gryffindor
Hugh Grant’s newly elected Prime Minister certainly plays a big part in the story compared to some members of the ensemble. A little younger than the men in charge before him, and a little less experienced politically, David’s willing to follow his gut and ignore the advice people give him. That’s very a very Gryffindor move.
David makes a lot of his decisions based on the idea that he and his cabinet need to be decent people, like commenting when someone talks about Natalie’s weight or making a decision about his relationship with the U.S. President based on how the other man treats women.
Natalie: Hufflepuff
There are elements of sneakiness to Natalie, like her willingness to hide the Prime Minister backstage at her old elementary school so she can have a little more time with him, but Natalie is definitely a Hufflepuff.
Natalie sees a lot of characters in the movie pick on her about her weight, but she just keeps going. Part of the household staff in the Prime Minister’s office, she’s clearly got a good work ethic. She also doesn’t want to rock the boat, not rebuffing he President of the United States when he makes a move on her, though not accepting his advances either.
Daniel: Ravenclaw
Daniel’s story in Love Actually begins with the loss of his wife and follows him connecting with his stepson over the subject of love. His care for Sam might make him seem like a Hufflepuff, but Daniel’s approach to helping the young man points more toward Ravenclaw.
When Daniel finds out that Sam’s big problem is that he has a crush on a girl who doesn’t know his name, Daniel resolves to help him. He watches romance movies with Sam and prompts him to find a way to connect with Joanna, encouraging his pursuit of music. He studies the great romances, attempting to teach Sam a few lessons, and that feels like more of a Ravenclaw move.
Sam: Gryffindor
As for Sam, the youngest member of the main cast is definitely a Gryffindor. He puts in the work to learn the drums and he studies relationships with Daniel, but his core motivation is his emotion.
Sam devotes his entire holiday season to becoming the kind of person a talented young singer would notice. He runs through the airport with security on his tail for the chance to talk to Joanna one more time. Sam puts his whole heart into everything he does.
Harry: Slytherin
Harry is hard to pin down because his storyline is devoted to one thing that is incredibly divisive with fans. Having a bit of a midlife crisis, Harry decides to cheat on his wife of over 13 years with his new assistant.
What we see of Harry is that he’s got at least a little ambition — he is the boss, after all. He also has no problem getting into the business of his employees, flat-out telling one of them to pursue an office romance so the rest of the staff won’t be annoyed with her. What his wife says about him, though, also reveals he’s been a creature of habit, sticking to structure and tradition. All of that, combined with his decision to make the selfish move and pursue infidelity, makes him a Slytherin.
Karen: Hufflepuff
Harry’s wife Karen is the kind of woman who tries to help with everything. It’s not clear if she has a job outside of the home, but her holiday season in the movie is busy enough that it would be nearly impossible for her to have one. She might be one of the hardest working characters in the movie.
Karen spends her time shopping for holiday presents for literally everyone her children know, making multiple different costumes for the nativity play for her kids, trying to keep in touch with her brother, the Prime Minister, attending her husband’s work functions, counseling her friend Daniel after losing his wife, and staying involved with her children’s school. Whew. There’s no way this master of time management is anything other than a Hufflepuff.
There’s also the fact that she’s suspicious of her husband’s affair long before she ever chooses to ask him about it, and when she does, it’s framed as asking him for advice so she doesn’t cause a huge conflict in a crowded space on Christmas.
Jamie: Ravenclaw
There are a few artsy characters in this movie, but Jamie is certainly the standout Ravenclaw among the lot. He’s a writer who decides to spend his month before Christmas in France working on a novel after he finds his girlfriend cheating on him with his brother.
We don’t get to learn much about Jamie’s novel, other than that it’s a crime story and he thinks his writing is horrible. We do see how great of a capacity for knowledge he has, however, when he realizes he’s falling for Aurelia. Since she doesn’t speak English, he sets out to learn Portuguese in a short amount of time, and then tracks her down so he can tell her how he feels in her native language.
Mark: Hufflepuff
Mark’s decision to tell a married woman how he feels on Christmas when her husband is in the other room has divided fans since the movie premiered in 2003. Some think he was gross for still trying to charm Juliet. Others think he was sweet. The Sorting Hat just thinks he’s a Hufflepuff.
The fact is that Mark avoids Juliet as much as he possibly can when his best friend falls for her. He goes out of his way to make sure that his friend’s happiness — and Juliet’s — is put first. It makes him miserable and standoffish, and everyone assumes he just hates her. When Juliet confronts him about it, he admits his feelings, calling it all self-preservation. It’s clear he was really just trying not to rock the boat.
Juliet: Gryffindor
A young Keira Knightley seemed mature beyond her teenage years in this movie. Most of her time is spent as the new wife of Peter and the woman Mark can’t have. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for the audience to get to know her, but we do know she has “terrible taste in pie” and real guts.
Despite believing that Mark hates her, she still approached him for help with her wedding video. She also confronted him about his feelings, wanting the two to get along. Following her own feelings and being brave enough to talk to him about the tension between them is enough to make her a Gryffindor in our eyes.
Billy Mack: Slytherin
Billy Mack is the absolute most difficult character to sort. If the Sorting Hat were placed on his head, he would probably just tell it to put him somewhere cool. He loves the popularity that comes with being a famous singer, like a Gryffindor would, but he’s also got exceptionally loyalty for his manager, like a Hufflepuff, and clearly has some musical talent, like a Ravenclaw. Ultimately, however, the Sorting Hat has to choose Slytherin for him.
Billy Mack is the kind of guy who might have loved music once upon a time, but is clearly in it for a paycheck by the time he’s recording Christmas music in 2003. He’s trying to maintain a cash flow and a status that are long gone. That sounds like Slytherin ambition.
