How Rye Lane Filmmaker Raine Allen-Miller Landed Colin Firth for Cameo

April 3, 2023

Spoilers: The charming London romance features a quick, tasty appearance from a beloved British star. The filmmaker tells IndieWire how he made it happen.

(Editor’s note: Spoilers ahead for “Rye Lane.”)

Raine Allen-Miller’s delightful romantic comedy “Rye Lane” has several tasty treats, including an unexpected cameo from a bona fide rom-com king.

While Allen-Miller doesn’t necessarily consider himself a fan of rom-coms, the first-time feature director brings plenty of affection for the genre to his film, which follows a pair of South Londoners (David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah). they walk and talk their way through a blossoming romance.

During one early stop, the duo hit up a food stand to buy a couple of spicy pork burritos. Our first look at the tie immediately reveals its genre: Love Guac’tually.

And who gets to control that food pantry? This is “Love, Actually” star Colin Firth himself.

“I don’t remember why I wanted to or how it happened, but I remember just saying to my partner, ‘Oh, this is what I want to do, where we have a shop called Burrito. jokes about other rom-coms,” the director told IndieWire in a recent interview. “And my friend said, ‘What about Love Guac’tually?’

The filmmaker whispered that his partner was joking like this good, it immediately boosted their own relationship (ah, romance). “I thought About a Burrito was really good, but when he said Love Guac’tually, I thought … well, now we’re engaged,” she said. “That’s saying a lot, isn’t it? But I was so impressed.”

Snagging Firth proved easier than expected for Allen-Miller, who took the idea to producers at BBC Film, the British Film Institute and Searchlight Pictures. The team encouraged him to approach Firth directly. “Someone had obviously worked with him before (and had his contact information), so I wrote him a letter,” he said. “And we thought, ‘oh, he’s not going to do it,’ but he did and it was great.

The actor was game for the gig — though he did ask for his own burrito — and was more than happy to help Allen-Miller cheekily call back the films that inspired his debut. The experience was nothing but fun for the aspiring director.

– So kind! Allen-Miller said. “He’s a really nice person. And that’s weird too, isn’t it? From what he’s in, you can tell he’s a really nice guy. He’s kind. It was very good!”

“Rye Lane” is now streaming on Hulu.

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