He won the nation’s hearts when he starred as smitten romantic Sam in Christmas classic Love Actually.
But 17 years after the youngster ran through Heathrow security to win the love of his American classmate, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster is now 30 years old.
Fans of the festive rom-com were baffled when the actor appeared on The One Show on Monday night, still looking remarkably fresh-faced while promoting new series The Queen’s Gambit.
Youthful: Love Actually fans could not believe Love Actually child actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster is now 30 years old, after seeing the fresh-faced star on The One Show on Monday
Looking smart in a turtleneck jumper paired with a simple black jacket, the TV star spoke about his youthful appearance with Welsh hosts Alex Jones and Gethin Jones.
He reflected on the ’embarrassing’ difficulty he faced when trying to buy a beer during a trip to Ottawa, Canada.
Thomas explained: ‘I was there to get my visa, so I sent my passport off that day and stumbled – well I didn’t stumble I walked – back to my hotel room, via a lovely looking bar.
‘I thought “oh great, I’ll pop in and have a nice beer, warm myself up a bit”. I go in there and I realise my ID is gone, because I had just given it away.
Adorable: It has been 17 years since a young Thomas ran through Heathrow airport security to win the love of his American classmate in the romantic comedy Love Actually
Shocked: Fans took to Twitter to express their shock at Thomas’ age, with one person joking that he must ‘swim in the fountain of youth’ as they claimed he still looks 16 years old
‘But I really wanted a beer and they all looked really nice so I, I sat on this for a while, and then I did eventually IMDB myself, showed the guy and said this is proof. This is my picture, this is my name and this is my age.’
But the showbiz gesture did not get Thomas anywhere as, although the staff enjoyed a good ‘giggle’, they still refused to serve him a pint.
He admitted: ‘He took it back and showed all his mates who kind of had a giggle about it but said “no I still can’t serve you”.’
But Gethin seemed unsurprised by the bartender’s refusal to serve Thomas, telling the Maze Runner star, ‘you haven’t aged a bit’.
Love Actually fans also took to Twitter to share their shock at Thomas’ age after seeing the baby-faced actor appear on the chat show.
One fan wrote: ‘Thomas Brodie Sangster is on the one show damn he still looks so young. The man doesn’t age.’
Another agreed: ‘As if Thomas Brodie-Sangster is 30… he still looks exactly like he did in Love Actually.’
One viewer even joked that he must ‘swim in the fountain of youth’ as they struggled to believe the TV star was 30 years old.
They wrote: ‘Thomas Brodie-Sangster is on The One Show and he STILL doesn’t look his age. He swims in the fountain of youth, I swear.’
Some shocked fans of The One Show claimed that Thomas could pass for a 16-year-old, despite being almost double the age.
Speaking on the chat show, Thomas also reminisced about starring in the romantic comedy Love Actually as Liam Neeson’s step-son Sam.
He spoke about the famous airport scene in the movie, explaining that they had to film while Heathrow airport was closed for two or three hours overnight.
The well-loved scene sees young Thomas being chased by airport security guards while trying to express his love for his American classmate Joanna.
Underage? Speaking about his youthful appearance to Welsh hosts Alex Jones and Gethin Jones, he told of the difficulty he faced when trying to buy a beer in Ottawa, Canada
Describing the airport re-opening during filming, Thomas said: ‘Then the first flights would arrive in from Hong Kong and Japan and they’d see this little kid being chased by security guards, I don’t know what they thought.’
He also told hosts Alex, 43, and Gethin, 42, that the first ever audition he did was for a number of roles in Harry Potter when he was 10 years old – but he sadly did not make the cast.
The actor is now starring with Anna-Taylor Joy in a new drama, The Queen’s Gambit, set during the Cold War era.
He plays Benny Watts alongside Anna, who stars as orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon.
Thomas has also enjoyed film success in Nanny McPhee, Nowhere Boy – in which he played a young Paul McCartney – and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Elsewhere, Thomas won a new legion of fans thanks to his recurring role as Jojen Reed in hugely popular HBO drama Game Of Thrones.
Wizarding world: Thomas said on The One Show that the first audition he ever did was for Harry Potter when he was 10 years old – but he sadly did not make the cast (pictured May 2019)