We all love Love Actually. It's been a Christmas staple since it was released 12 years ago, and frankly, we can't get enough.
There's just something about those intertwining love stories that makes it irresistible. But you should really be changing the way you look at it. Because Love Actually is basically just one long, very high-budget fan fiction.
First, most obvious things first: We've all accepted that Alan Rickman's character will continue to be referred to as "Snape" for the rest of forever...
Sure, Snape did some bad things in Harry Potter but nothing compares to how much of a dick he was in Love Actually.
Does anyone actually know what his Love Actually character's name is?
Both played by Alan Rickman. Both villains. Both (arguably) the actual worst.
Because Love Actually is clearly set in an alternative Muggle London, where Professor Snape married and had babies with Professor Trelawney.
And he cheats on her (kind of), because of course he does, because he is the worst.
But it's not just Snape and Trelawney who appear in this Christmassy fan fiction: Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour is there too.
Which means that, in the Muggle world of Love Actually, this is the Minister for Magic:
Oh, and in case that wasn't quite enough Harry Potter for you, there was originally a same-sex romance storyline that got cut from the film, which involved Frances de la Tour, aka Madame Maxime.
It's not just Harry Potter, though. As well as playing the Minister for Magic, Bill Nighy also played Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean...
Opposite Keira Knightley. Who – of course – is also in Love Actually.
IS THERE ANYONE WHO ISN'T IN THIS FILM?
We all remember Love Actually's most ~controversial~ scene, where Juliet's husband's best friend, Mark, declares his love for her through the medium of cue card.
But wait! Stop! Who is that person confessing his love to Elizabeth Swann? That's right – it's Rick Grimes, from The Walking Dead.
Obviously Love Actually was set in 2003, pre-zombie apocalypse and Rick's mysteriously American accent.
OK, so now that those connections have been made, let's back up a little bit. At the start of the film, Professor Trelawney (sorry, I mean Emma Thompson) has a nice phone call with her friend Daniel, played by Liam Neeson.
Yes, Liam Neeson, who voiced the lion Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia.
He's also Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars and Ra's al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises, because Liam Neeson just loves goddamn franchises.
We all know that one of Love Actually's most heartwarming storylines follows the budding relationship between Aslan and his stepson Sam...
Played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster, aka Game of Thrones' Jojen Reed.
Who, since he was in Love Actually, has also appeared in an episode of Doctor Who...
As has Bill Nighy, aka Rufus Scrimgeour, aka Davy Jones, aka Love Actually's Billy Mack.
And guess who that episode was written by? Yep. Richard Curtis. The dude who wrote Love Actually. We have officially come full circle.
*is finally able to breathe*
So, in conclusion: Harry Potter + Pirates of the Caribbean + The Walking Dead + The Chronicles of Narnia + Star Wars + Batman + Game of Thrones + Doctor Who = Love Actually.
(Oh, and Bilbo Baggins/Dr John Watson is there too.)
