From instant sparks and heartbreak to enduring friendship, LILY COLLINS and SAM CLAFLIN, the stars of a new romantic comedy, share what they’ve learned about that thing called love.
This month, Lily Collins, 25, and Sam Claflin, 28, star in Love, Rosie, a reimagining of Cecelia Ahern's book about love in every form. “Lily and Sam capture the essence of this love story beautifully,” says the author. "I hope people will be inspired to grab life’s opportunities and not let moments pass them by." We asked the actors to tell us – and each other – everything they’ve learned about love. From finding it at first sight to the beauty of heartbreak, the results are heartwarming.
Sam
“I sat on my own with my dog last night and watched My Best Friend’s Wedding – it’s one of my favorite films of all time. Notting Hill, Love Actually, When Harry Met Sally... When a romantic comedy is done well there’s nothing that beats it. And, for me, Love, Rosie is another one of those.
When I met Lily it was an odd introduction. We were forced into a room together for a ‘chemistry test’ because the director wanted to get a feel for how we would get on, but there had been so many near attempts of us meeting and working together before, and we have so many mutual friends, that it felt right immediately. About a month after that first meeting, I was at an Oscars party at Madonna’s house and I saw Lily. I thought, ‘Lily! Friend!’ I spent the majority of the night holding the trains of her and her friends’ dresses while they danced.
In the film, Lily and I play best friends, Rosie and Alex, and it’s the story of a boy becoming a man, a girl becoming a woman, and their friendship – missed opportunities, misunderstandings and all. It was interesting to play friends of the opposite sex, because inevitably they deal with some problems and situations very differently. As a friend, I’m a good listener. I think I give good advice and I’m loyal. I’m quite reserved – I enjoy listening more than I enjoy talking. And I’m usually really difficult to break, I have a guard up. I don’t know whether that’s because of the jobs that I’ve been on or whether it’s always been there, but I’m always really quiet to begin with.
I think I’m a really good judge of character; I usually know within ten minutes whether I’m going to like somebody or not. But I like most people, I don’t hate anybody, not one person in the world do I hate or despise. And I’m very honest – my wife would probably say a bit too honest sometimes.
My wife, Laura [Haddock], is undoubtedly my best friend. We met at an audition for My Week with Marilyn and there was an instant spark. We found out we had the same agent and then bumped into each other the next morning at the tube station. I didn’t know anything about her other than that her name was Laura, she was very attractive and she seemed lovely. But I went home, woke my friend up at 7am and said, ‘I just met the girl I want to marry. I love this girl, like, I love her. She’s perfect.’ About four months passed. I was in the middle of filming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Laura found me on Facebook. I don’t even know how – she remembered my name somehow and got in touch saying, ‘I don’t know if you remember me...’ And I was like ‘Oh my God, I remember you!’ We messaged for about two months, every single day, at least once a day.
My mum and dad were married at 21 and 22 and I’ve always wanted to be a young parent. So... You know when you know, right? It’s impossible to try to put into words, but when you meet the one you know immediately. I still feel as though I don’t deserve Laura, so I feel like I constantly have to show her that I’m a good guy. Paranoia can be a killer, but it excites me and it keeps me on my toes and it makes me work hard for her. And for some stupid reason I think she feels the same way.
The most important advice I have to give about love? I think patience, really. It can happen tomorrow, in a year, in ten years... You never know. Don’t rush into something you’re not 100 per cent about. I think that’s why most people assume that they’ll never do any better even if they’re in an unhappy relationship, because they feel that they’re not worthy of anything better. But actually, I think that everyone deserves to find their one and will find their one. It could be when you’re sixty, but it’s inevitable. Love is a wondrous thing.”
Lily
“Thanks to movies like Notting Hill and Love Actually, I grew up dreaming that there were men with romantic sides who weren’t afraid to show it, and that everything happens for a reason. (Sam and I quickly found out we love the same films; it was a good sign). Love, Rosie taught me that it takes finding out who you are and what you really want in order to find the right person. When you’re just being yourself, that’s when you attract someone with the qualities that are most suitable for you. The second you write someone off because they’re ‘not your type’, you shut yourself off from a person or an experience that might be perfect for you. Sometimes you just need to say yes.
Almost all my friends are from school days, high school and college. They have known me since before I started acting and with many of them it was like love at first sight... We connected right away and I knew they were going to be in my life forever.
I’m a good judge of character. I learned that early on, moving to LA and having certain people immediately wanting to be friends because of my family connections, even hearing that parents would say to their kids, ‘You should be friends with her because...’ Right away I just had this warning that people can have ulterior motives.
I look for friends who are non-judgmental, who go with the flow and are accepting of all types of people and all kinds of experiences. That’s something my mother, Jill, instilled in me. She always took me on adventures and whether it was a day at Venice Beach or traveling to Africa, it was to learn about other cultures. It taught me about communication and to not be afraid to voice an opinion. That’s another thing I look for: someone who disagrees with me. It’s important to have challengers, not in an offensive way, but someone who reminds you that what you are thinking is not always correct.
What else? Somebody that can make fun of themselves; someone that can make me laugh... The second I met Sam I felt as though I had known him a year. I’d say he’s an old soul, so silly, a total ‘bloke’. He made me feel so confident, I trusted him right away. When it comes to friends, there needs to be a certain trust that if you challenge the other person they’re not going to run away, get defensive or judge you. There’s this kind of fear at the beginning of any relationship, friendship or romantic, that if you say something the other person might not like, they might not call you again. I’ve learned that not everyone is always going to like what you have to say and that’s OK, because you are being you. Once a relationship starts out open and honest, you’re already so much further down the road. It’s in sharing your flaws with someone else that you acknowledge the fact everyone has them. Of course, you want to show the person you’re perfect, but that’s not the real world.
All those romantic comedies taught me everything happens for a reason. Some people walk into your life and they teach you what you like and what you don’t like. If you’ve really felt strongly about someone and had your heart broken, then you know to what extent your heart can feel. And you know that moving forward you have the ability to feel that much for someone, and you can navigate the next steps of your romantic life.
When you know how much your heart can feel, you know that you don’t have to settle for anything less. You can get different things out of different relationships with different people. You can take every experience and try to learn something about yourself – maybe something that was making you happy or unhappy, qualities you did or didn’t like about that person – and take that with you, so at least you know the boundaries of what works for you. Heartbreak sucks, but eventually you will be able to get past it, just like Rosie.”
Love, Rosie is out on 22 Oct (UK)
! He didn't get as much attention at the Snow White panel but he really held out on his own. Very charming but knew how to show some witty humor.
