Laura Linney is one of just two Americans in Richard Curtis' very British romantic comedy Love Actually - and when it came to joining the ensemble she didn't have to be asked twice.

"It was a real no brainer joining the cast, Richard just wrote me this really lovely letter asking me to be part of it," enthuses the 39-year-old, corn-blond actress.

Most recently seen on our cinema screens in Clint Eastwood's acclaimed drama Mystic River, Linney joined a stellar British cast that includes the likes of Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy and Martine McCutcheon.

She plays Sarah, who has a sad secret in this mix of interconnecting London tales of love and friendship, with Grant leading the way as a fictional and eligible Prime Minister looking for love.

Produced by Tim Bevan, of Notting Hill and Bridget Jones' Diary, for which Curtis did the screenplay, this is his debut behind the cameras as director and features a virtual who's who of British talent.

Linney was filming Mystic River at the same time and had to fly back and forth between London and Boston during a very busy shooting schedule.

Fortunately, she loves Britain's capital.

"I just love working in London, it's a great city and I also love working with Brits," she says. "Richard (Curtis) is just so clever and smart."

Love Actually is just the kind of romantic romp that people need right now, says the Oscar-nominated actress who is best known for Peter Weir's movie The Truman Show and Kenneth Lonergan's award-winning You Can Count On Me.

"It looks at love in all its different incarnations, in every sort of viewpoint and is such great fun. It's a movie full of hope."

Her character isn't too far removed from who she really is, admits new Yorker Linney "although I don't think I'm as romantically idealistic as she is."

Even the sex scene didn't detract from the enjoyment, Linney adds. "I've been naked in movies before and this was no big deal. In this it wasn't real nudity, just a boob."

Doing a typically Bevan/Curtis romantic comedy made a good contrast to the tense mystery drama of Mystic River says Linney, who played the wife of a grief-filled and vengeful Sean Penn.

"If you're going to be in two different movies, then what a couple of movies these are," she says. "Love Actually is the perfect contrast to Mystic River, which is what I love about doing this."

The hectic shooting schedule at least gave her the chance to catch up with old friends. "I was flying back and forth between Boston and London for a few months as I was filming Love Actually at the same time. The little time I had off was connecting with old friends."

Linney trained at Juilliard and went on to become a feature on Broadway.

Last year, for instance, she co-starred with Liam Neeson in the revival of Arthur Miller's landmark play The Crucible.

"I need to return to the stage every few years because it reminds me of why I love being an actor in the first place," she says.

With her star on the rise in Hollywood, Linney knows you have to take success when it happens. She was pipped for her first Oscar last year by Julia Roberts, after being nominated for You Can Count On Me, playing a struggling solo mother.

She says of having been nominated for Best Actress: "It's a very nice shift for me. For some people it changes their life, for me it was a lovely thing to have happened."

And she adds, realistically: "You have to understand, in a business like this, that for every high there will be lows. You have to accept that and not take it personally."

Linney had gained a reputation as a hard working actress who likes to play very different characters.

And she's happy to accept being a late bloomer in the film stakes. "This is the way my career has worked out for me, this business is a crapshoot," she exclaims.