Love Actually star looks very different after tempting Harry Potter icon - The Mirror

German actress Heike Makatsch, who played temptress secretary Mia in the 2003 classic Love Actually, now stars in a quirky Apple TV thriller

Heike Makatsch looks worlds away from her memorable appearance in Love Actually, two decades after the beloved festive film. The German actress is now starring in Apple TV+'s first German-language series, marking a dramatic departure from her romantic comedy roots.

Best remembered for her 2003 portrayal of Mia, the flirtatious secretary who tempted Alan Rickman's character Harry in Love Actually, Heike has now immersed herself in the darkly comic thriller Where's Wanda?

Launching on Wednesday 2 October, 2024 on Apple TV+, the show follows the story of married couple Dedo and Carlotta Klatt, played by Axel Stein and Heike, who are desperately hunting for their vanished daughter Wanda, played by Lea Drinda. When the police fail to make progress, the family takes matters into their own hands to find their missing 17 year old.

They launch their own investigation, scrutinising their neighbourhood and using surveillance technology to spy on possible suspects throughout the ten-episode series,

Heike has transformed significantly since her Love Actually days, when she portrayed the "office tart" who famously pursued her boss Harry, causing devastating heartache for his wife Karen, all while sporting darker locks. Now embracing grittier television drama, her current look is completely unrecognisable from her Love Actually persona, reports the Mirror.

In the beloved film, the seductress sported a short, edgy black bob, but now, at 53, she looks completely different with her long blonde hair, making it hard for many to recognise her as the Love Actually star. Heike portrayed what some consider the most despised character in the 2003 classic, though the film never explicitly reveals whether Harry, played by Alan Rickman, actually cheated on his wife Karen with the seductive office temptress.

Nevertheless, the storyline left audiences feeling both furious and devastated.

Near the film's end, Karen, played by Emma Thompson, finds a necklace in Harry's coat pocket and assumes it's intended for her. The possible affair is exposed when, rather than the jewellery, she opens a Joni Mitchell CD as her Christmas gift.

Subsequently, viewers witness Mia barely clothed, smugly wearing the necklace that Karen had previously discovered. Despite wishes that an actual affair hadn't taken place, script editor Emma Freud later confirmed that it had.

One memorable scene features Mia, portrayed by Makatsch, at a Christmas party with Rickman's Harry, where she wears a low-cut dress and devil horns, attempting to seduce him. After Henry presents Mia with a locket, she flirtatiously tells him: "I don't want something I need. I want something pretty."

Besides her memorable role as Mia in Love Actually, Heike has also graced the silver screen in acclaimed films like Resident Evil (2002) and The Book Thief (2013).

After her iconic part, she carried on with her acting career, featuring in a variety of German films and telly shows.

She was notably involved with James Bond star Daniel Craig for seven years, having met him on the set of the romantic drama Obsession. Following their break up in 2004, Heike started seeing Max Martin Schroder, a musician from a German indie band, and they now share two children.

Love Actually is available to stream on Netflix.