German actress Heike Makatsch, best known for her role in the classic Christmas film Love, Actually, looks totally unrecognisable more than 20 years after the film’s release.
In the 2003 holiday rom-com, Heike portrays Mia, a flirty secretary who sparks an affair with Harry (played by Alan Rickman), the wife of Karen (Emma Thompson).
Known to fans of the film for her striking looks and signature black bob, the star has a completely different appearance in Apple TV+’s first German-language TV series, Where’s Wanda?
In the brand-new comedic mystery series, Heike stars as mother-of-two Carlotta Klatt, who conducts an increasingly unhinged search for her and husband Dedo’s (Axel Stein) missing daughter Wanda (Lea Drinda).
Now portraying a determined parent with long blonde hair and a casual yet stylish wardrobe, her new role is worlds away from the iconic character that rom-com fans are still obsessed with.
Love Actually star totally unrecognisable in twisty new mystery drama (Image: UNIVERSAL PICTURES)
She exclusively told the Express: “Oh yes, it’s still being shown every year around Christmas.
“Although I only had a relatively small role and we didn’t have that many days of shooting, of course it was great that I was allowed to work with Richard Curtis and so many great people from English cinema and the English theatre stage.”
Despite starring some of the biggest names in British showbiz, Heike was completely unaware of how much of a phenomenon Love Actually would eventually become.
“Back then I didn’t really know that it would be such an iconic movie that I was able to contribute to,” she added.
Heike Makatsch rocks a very different look in the new Apple TV series (Image: APPLE TV )
“I’m really happy, even today, when people talk to me about that and tell me that it’s their favourite movie and that everyone knows the movie, it’s, of course, great to have been part of that.”
In her new series, Where’s Wanda?, Carlotta and Dedo embark on a widespread surveillance mission as they become desperate to retrieve their missing daughter.
The couple begins to bug the homes of their neighbours, convinced they’re hiding secrets which could lead to Wanda’s whereabouts.
Heike revealed that she already has first-hand experience with knowing everything her neighbours are up to thanks to a peculiar feature of their neighbourhood.
Carlotta and Dedo go to desperate lengths to find their daughter (Image: APPLE TV )
“The living situation in my case is rather transparent because I’m living in a bungalow and we’ve got a glass front and then we’ve got a garden in front of that,” she explained.
“And then there is a big building in front of me, but they, again, have the back part of their building in glass.
“So they are looking into the backyard, I’m looking at the backyard, we all see each other all the time. I can always tell who’s just coming home, whether they’re having a fight, whether one person’s leaving, whether someone might have forgotten to put something on when they’re going to breakfast. So I get to see everything!
“But we still got along very well, our neighbours and myself. And it also feels kind of safe knowing that we are always watching each other. This kind of surveillance is something we can live with.”
The daring and often hilarious new series poses the question of what parents are capable of to protect their children and is guaranteed to provoke thoughtful debates and plenty of laughs.
Where’s Wanda? continues every Wednesday on Apple TV+.