Lights, Camera, Action!

Dense jungles and towering mountains, historic cities and remote islands: movies and television shows transport us to incredible places. Take a leap from the couch and find yourself walking in the footsteps of your favourite characters.

Words: TERRI DUNBAR-CURRAN

Quiet on set… roll camera… Casting a watchful eye around him, Gendry Baratheon reaches a hand down and hoists Arya Stark up beside him on the slowly trundling cart. The camera pans upwards, revealing a weary party trudging behind the wagon. Arya fades from view beneath the twisted branches that enclose the King’s Road, a mystical gnarled tunnel, as Yoren leads them through the mist towards the wall.

Located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, the Dark Hedges is an avenue of beech trees along Bregagh Road. It was the perfect stand-in for the King’s Road in the wildly popular Game of Thrones television series based on George RR Martin’s series of fantasy novels. Movie buffs with a keen eye may also recognise the atmospheric avenue from 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight, where it cuts an equally dramatic and ominous figure.

When the cameras stop rolling and the flurry of actors and film crew dissipates, the Dark Hedges is a beautiful spot for a stroll, as the sun filters down through the criss-crossing branches and the long grasses in the fields on either side rustle softly in the wind. The difference between what you see on the screen and what you find yourself surrounded by as you crunch up the drive may be night and day, but there’s something truly thrilling about finding yourself where the action unfolded.

Film and television have opened a whole new world to us through our screens. Why not take the experience a step further and embark on a journey to these incredible locations?

On set in Europe

Aside from Game of Thrones being filmed in locations across Northern Ireland, Europe has seen its fair share of film production crews rolling through. Skellig Michael, a small but striking island off the coast of mainland Ireland featured in Star Wars Ep VII, VIII and IX when Rey meets Luke Skywalker for the first time, and was the scene of Luke’s hideout on the planet Ahch-To and Rey’s Jedi training.

Head on over to Paris, and stroll in the footsteps of Rachel McAdams and Owen Wilson as you relive the romance of Midnight in Paris (2011), then hop over to Spain to discover some of the filming locations of Clint Eastwood’s Dollars Trilogy. Most notably, at Hoyo de Manzanares near Madrid, you may recognise glimpses of the scenery in A Fistful of Dollars (1964).

France and Bavaria both produced filming opportunities for 1968’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, with Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria doubling as Baron Bomburst's castle and Plage Taillat in France providing the pretty beach scenery.

If you’re looking for a dose of good old-fashioned action-adventure, then add Venice and Petra to your list to relive some of the adrenaline-pumping scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Put yourself in the shoes of Harrison Ford and Sean Connery as they burst out of the Siq in Petra and head into the labyrinths of the Treasury in search of the Holy Grail.

Another classic, 1965’s Sound of Music was filmed in multiple locations around Salzburg in Austria. You too can ponder how you’d solve a problem like Maria as you stroll through the courtyard of Nonnberg Abbey, or imagine drinking lemonade with the baroness on the terrace of Schloss Leopoldskron, which doubled as the von Trapp family home.

On location in Asia Pacific

One of the most popular filming locations in this region has to be New Zealand, where you can venture into JRR Tolkein’s Middle-Earth, brought to life by Peter Jackson in the film trilogy The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003). Wander through the picturesque pastures of the Shire and the enchanting village of Hobbiton near Waikato. A visit to Kaitoke Regional Park near Wellington transports you straight to the elven sanctuary of Rivendell, where light filters gently through the trees above rippling streams.

Lara Croft fans can head over to Cambodia and Iceland where scenes from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) were filmed. With a large amount of filming being centred around Ta Prohm in Angkor Park, Cambodia, the temple became known as the Tomb Raider temple. Relive the adventure as you wander through the ancient moss-covered ruins snaked through with the twisted roots of massive trees.

Back in Europe, a few hours from Reykjavik in Iceland, Jökulsárlón Lagoon doubles as Siberia and sees Angelina Jolie‘s character meeting with villagers before setting off to the Ice Lake. Jökulsárlón Lagoon also appears in the James Bond films, Die Another Day and A View to a Kill.

The third season of the black comedy drama The White Lotus (2021–present) was filmed at the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, Thailand, with some additional scenes being shot in Phuket and Bangkok. It is apparent that the show has had a phenomenal impact on each filming destination, with a notable increase in interest dubbed ‘The White Lotus Effect’.

Action in Africa

Africa is no stranger to action and adventure films, with epic natural scenery and cosmopolitan cities that have stood in for numerous international and fantasy metropolises. Namibian deserts near Swakopmund and along the Skeleton Coast featured as post-apocalyptic wasteland in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. The cast and crew of another Lara Croft film, Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, spent two weeks filming in Kenya at Amboseli and Hell's Gate, with some members of Kenya’s Pokot tribe playing the roles of a community Lara Croft meets while there.

Heading into the cities, there’ve been some big-budget action films shot across South Africa. South African science fiction-action film District 9 (2009) was filmed in Soweto in Johannesburg. The film, with its strong social commentary, saw aliens trying to survive after being relocated to a sprawling camp outside the city by the South African government.

Cape Town’s Civic Centre and Artscape Theatre buildings were transformed into Mega City 1 for Dredd (2012). A good dose of CGI was employed to extend the courtyard upwards into the dizzying Peach Trees, largely inspired by Johannesburg’s Ponte City Tower. In another 2012 action film, Safe House, Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds tear through the streets of Cape Town, fleeing from mercenaries. There are plenty of well-known spots featured, many of which you can easily visit if you find yourself in the Mother City.

That’s a wrap in Latin America

Recounting the 1952 expedition across South America by Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado, 2004’s The Motorcycle Diaries was shot on location in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Their epic journey begins in Buenos Aires and sees them heading through Piedra Del Aguila and on to the stunning Lake District in Argentina, with the snowy peaks of the Andes as a backdrop. The film also sees them passing through Valparaíso, one of Chile’s largest cities. From there, they set out on foot into the Atacama Desert. And of course, their journey also takes them to Machu Picchu in Peru, a place as memorable to them back then as it is to travellers today.

Jumping genres, and a few decades, to 2016’s Suicide Squad, where Panama City and Colón in Panama offered the aged look of ‘grandeur and decline’ that the crew was after. And finally, The Expendables (2010) saw cast and crew setting up camp in multiple locations across Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, Mangaratiba, Niteroi, Guanabara Bay, Colônia Juliano Moreira and Parque Lage.

And… scene

The entertainment industry has done a lot to boost tourism in places that suddenly find themselves in the limelight, but, as with all travel, it’s important to always ensure we’re approaching journeys responsibly and respectfully, with the well-being of the local communities and natural environment front of mind.

The sheen of the big screen can be easily dulled when locations selected for their outstanding beauty become overrun by crowds. Tread lightly, camera at the ready, and create memories you, and future generations, will treasure long after the final scene is wrapped.

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