Notting Hill (film) - Cast

Cast

• Julia Roberts as Anna Scott: A Hollywood film star. She meets Will when she comes into his book shop in Notting Hill. Roberts was the "one and only" choice for the role, although Roger Michell and Duncan Kenworthy did not expect her to accept. Her agent told her it was "the best romantic comedy she had ever read". Roberts said that after reading the script she decided she was "going to have to do this".
• Hugh Grant as William "Will" Thacker: Recently divorced owner of a travel book shop in Notting Hill. The decision to cast Grant was unanimous, as he and Richard Curtis had a "writer/actor marriage made in heaven". Michell said that "Hugh does Richard better than anyone else, and Richard writes Hugh better than anyone else", and that Grant is "one of the only actors who can speak Richard's lines perfectly".
• Emma Chambers as Honey Thacker: Will's younger sister, she is a fan of Anna Scott. She later marries her brother's flatmate Spike.
• Hugh Bonneville as Bernie: A failing stockbroker and a friend of Will. He does not recognize Anna Scott upon meeting her and by way of small talk about the low pay in acting, asks her how much money she made on her last film.
• Rhys Ifans as Spike: Will's strange Welsh flatmate who dreams of being an artist. He later marries Honey Thacker and becomes Will's brother-in-law. He is described by Will as "the stupidest person in the world, only doubled".
• Tim McInnerny as Max: Will's best friend, with whom Will often stays. He and Bella host Honey's birthday party.
• Gina McKee as Bella: A paraplegic lawyer and Will's ex-girlfriend. She is married to Max. She is described by Will as one of the only two women that he has ever loved.
• James Dreyfus as Martin: William's ineffective assistant at his bookshop.

The casting of Bonneville, McInnerny, McKee, Chambers, and Ifans as Will's friends was "rather like assembling a family". Michell explained that "When you are casting a cabal of friends, you have to cast a balance of qualities, of types and of sensibilities. They were the jigsaw that had to be put together all in one go, and I think we've got a very good variety of people who can realistically still live in the same world."

Other characters

• Richard McCabe as Tony: A failing restaurateur. The group meets at his restaurant.
• Omid Djalili has a cameo role as the salesperson in the opening minutes of local background footage.
• Dylan Moran as Rufus: A thief who attempts to steal from Will's bookshop. Despite being caught on CCTV concealing a book down his trousers he professes his innocence, then asks Anna if she wants his phone number.
• Alec Baldwin makes an uncredited appearance as Anna's boyfriend, Jeff King.
• Sanjeev Bhaskar has a cameo role as a loud and offensive restaurant patron (who refers to Meg Ryan as the actress who has an orgasm every time she's taken out for a cup of coffee) in the restaurant Anna and Will attend.
• Mischa Barton makes a brief appearance as the child actor whom Will pretends to interview for Horse & Hound.
• Emily Mortimer as Will's "Perfect Girl," a potential love interest for Will.
• John Shrapnel as Anna's UK press agent.