How ‘Rye Lane’ Filmmaker Raine Allen-Miller Won Colin Firth for Cameo
Spoilers: The charming London romance includes a quick, tasty entrance from a popular British star. The filmmaker tells IndieWire how she made it happen.
[Editor’s note: Spoilers ahead for “Rye Lane.”]
There are plenty of tasty treats packed into Raine Allen-Miller’s delightful romantic comedy Rye Lane, including an unexpected cameo from a real-life rom-com king.
While Allen-Miller doesn’t exactly consider herself a rom-com fanatic, the first-time filmmaker brought a ton of affection to the genre to her film, which follows two South Londoners (David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah) as they walk and talk their way through a blossoming romance.
During an early stop, the duo stopped by a food stand to purchase a pair of spicy pork burritos. Our first look at the joint immediately makes its genre bonafides clear: it’s called Love Guac’tually.
And who could possibly occupy this food stand? It’s Love Actually star Colin Firth himself.
“I can’t remember why I wanted it or how it happened, but I do remember just saying to my partner, ‘Oh, I want to do this thing where we have a place called ‘About a Burrito ‘ have jokes about other rom-coms,” the director said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “And my friend was like, ‘What about Love Guac’tually?'”
The filmmaker joked that the joke was her partner’s So Well, it immediately elevated their own relationship (ah, romance). “I thought About a Burrito was really good, but when he said Love Guac’tually, I thought … well, we’re engaged now,” she said. “That says a lot, doesn’t it? But I was so impressed.”
Snagging Firth proved easier than expected for Allen-Miller, who pitched the idea to her producers at BBC Film, the British Film Institute and Searchlight Pictures. The team encouraged her to contact Firth directly. “Someone had obviously worked with him before [and had his contact information], so I wrote him a letter,” she said. “And we were like, ‘Oh, he’s not going to do it,’ but he did, and it was great.”
The actor was ready to perform — despite requesting a burrito of his own — and was happy to help Allen-Miller deliver a cheeky callback to the kind of films that inspired her debut. The experience was nothing but fun for the aspiring director.
“He’s so nice!” said Allen-Miller. “He’s a really nice person. And it’s weird too, isn’t it? You can tell by the stuff he’s in that he’s a really nice guy. he is lovely It was great!”
Rye Lane is now streaming on Hulu.
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https://www.indiewire.com/2023/04/rye-lane-colin-firth-cameo-1234823244/ How ‘Rye Lane’ Filmmaker Raine Allen-Miller Won Colin Firth for Cameo
