40+ Famous Movie Scene Locations in Real Life

This is the seventh movie in the Star Wars franchise, which was highly anticipated by fans. Released in 2015, the epic addition to the space saga came 30 years after the last release.

The movie was shot at multiple locations, and one of them was Puzzlewood, a forester area in Cardiff. The scenes starred Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, and the droid BB-8. The green forest helps add intrigue to this compelling movie.

This 1981 action-adventure movie is the first with actor Harrison Ford donning the hat (literally) to play the iconic archaeologist Indiana Jones. This movie did great at the box office!

One location where the movie was shot is the San Francisco City Hall, with the character of Jones and his love interest Marion standing on the steps, decked up in formal attire.

A touching movie, Good Will Hunting is sure to move even the cold-hearted with its beautiful storyline. The film follows Will, played by Matt Damon, a mathematical genius who has trouble with his emotional life.

A poignant scene was shot on the park bench between Damon’s Will and his therapist Sean, played by Robin Williams. Fans of the movie can sit in the same place as the duo at the Boston Common Park, where the scene was actually shot.

If you’re a die-hard Die Hard fan (see what we did there?), this location is for you. The scene is from the third part of the series, released in 1995.

The scene features protagonist lieutenant John Mclane, starring Bruce Willis, and Samuel. L. Jackson, as his reluctant partner Zeus Carver. Though we couldn’t find the exact location, it’s a subway station in New York!

The 2011 movie stars Ryan Gosling as a getaway driver whose star-crossed love changes his life. Full of intrigue and many cars, the movie was a hit amongst the actor’s fans.

One scene in the film shows Gosling standing in front of a lake in a park. Shot in Los Angeles, the exact location is McArthur Park. The park is as scenic and calm as it appears in the movie.

One of Jane Eyre’s most popular classics, Pride and Prejudice‘s 1995 adaptation, was shot in England, and movie buffs have managed to spot the location where the scenes were shot.

One of them was the Lacock village in Wiltshire. The scene shows the sisters walking down the village streets—a classic location for a classic piece.

The 2012 adaptation of the French Classic, Les Miserables, is an Oscar-winning classic that won the audience’s hearts. The story of Jean Valjean is beautifully depicted through brilliant acting and gorgeous locations.

One such location where the main character ends up is in front of the Old Royal Naval College in London. The shot perfectly lines up with the college in the background; if you want, you can also take a photo there!

The titular character’s running spree is probably the most bizarre yet impactful scene of Forrest Gump. In the movie, Forrest, played by Tom Hanks, runs for three straight years for no particular reason.

Over his journey, he amassed a fan following of media houses, curious bystanders, and fellow runners. However, one scene that stands out is when Forrest suddenly stops in the middle of a deserted area after three years and decides that his run is over. This iconic scene took place in Monument Valley, Utah, and is a fan-favorite.

Batman Begins is the first movie in the Dark Knight trilogy. The dark themes throughout the movie (after all, Batman is a dark and brooding hero) and Christian Bale’s first foray into playing the vigilante are bound to go down in cinematic history.

One of the more iconic scenes of the movie is a framed shot of Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, all decked up in his suit, flying through a grand staircase. The shot was taken in the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London.

The Avengers was the turning point for the Marvel movies, turning them from individual hero movies into a buildup for something much bigger.

Two of the biggest stars of the entire ensemble are Iron Man and Captain America, played by Robert Downey Jr. And Chris Evans. One of the scenes featuring the duo, and their contrasting personalities, is shot at the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park in New York. This place might be a good start if you want to go where the heroes go to pow-wow.

War Horse tells the story of a powerful bond between a human and his pet. The 2011 movie stars Emily Watson and Tom Hiddleston in its cast.

One of the scenes featuring Hiddleston takes place in Castle Combe in England. The scene is set in front of one of the many brick houses in the village.

The mega sci-fi franchise of Star Trek is a strong one, with many movies and TV shows being birthed from it. The 12th movie installment, Star Trek Into Darkness, was released in 2012 and saw Chris Pine taking the helm as Captain James T. Kirk.

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch is also a part of this stellar cast and plays the role of Khan Noonein Singh, a genetically engineered human. One of the scenes featuring him was shot in Century City in Los Angeles.

Sleepless in Seattle is a timeless classic and one of the many iconic movies to come out of the lead pairing of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

The romantic comedy is sure to bring a smile to everybody’s face! One scene featuring Hanks is shot in the Pike Palace fish Market in Seattle.

12 Years a Slave is an Oscar-winning movie based on an 1853 memoir by the same name. The movie’s hard-hitting scenes and storyline, along with actor Chiwetel Ejiofor’s amazing acting as the protagonist, are bound to leave a lasting impression.

Many scenes of the movie were shot in the city of New Orleans, where the character is actually sent in the film.

The historical drama The Duchess finds actress Kiera Knightley in the center of it, playing the role of the titular duchess. The movie follows the life of a young duchess and the struggles that she faces.

Filming took place in the UK, as the location already provides the infrastructure for such shoots. One scene featuring Knightley was shot in front of the Somerset House in London.

All Star Trek fans have made the trip to Vasquez Rocks, at least once, to capture themselves standing amid the rocks featured in numerous movies and TV episodes of the franchise.

The place where Captain Kirk fought off the Gorn has become iconic with fans and is often used by movies and TV shows to depict Star Wars. Most recently, the place was used in a Big Bang Theory episode, where the four friends and huge Star Wars fans get stuck in the desert in their cosplay uniform.

Technically this isn’t a movie, but this iconic album cover has a fan following. The most iconic band of its time, and even today, The Beatles’ Abbey Road cover was taken on the titular street, Abbey Road, in London.

The picture of the four band members walking one behind the other is a favorite amongst Beatles fans and has now donned almost all the Beatles memorabilia.

The 2007 action-comedy stars actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two police officers. The movie was a massive hit with the audience, and the antics of the duo are sure to leave you laughing and crying simultaneously.

Directed by Edgar Wright, the movie was shot in Wells, Somerset, which is also the director’s hometown. The shooting took a little over 11 weeks to finish.

Captain Marvel, allegedly the most powerful superhero (depending on who you ask), may not always be present on this planet. Thankfully, her 2019 movie, wherein actress Brie Larson donned the iconic suit, was shot almost entirely in places fans can visit.

One location featured extensively in the movie is the Grand Park Station in LA, where Captain Marvel walks around in her green suit. The station is shown from different angles, with Larson’s character also heading to the stairs nearby.

The first feature film directed by famous actor Ryan Gosling was shot in Detroit, Michigan. Lost River follows the story of a young boy who decides to take drastic measures to save his family from bankruptcy.

However, since the movie was shot, many buildings featured in the film have been razed down. So the locations were identified by fans using markers, like things that were nearby.

One of Benedict Cumberbatch’s most touching performances was in the 2010 movie Third Star. In it, the actor plays the role of a man whose last wish is to see Barafundle Bay, his favorite place on Earth.

So, of course, he and his three friends set course for the place in Pembrokeshire in Wales and made it to the picturesque Barafundle Bay, where Benedict Cumberbatch acts out one of the most heartbreaking climaxes of all time.

Hidden Figures should be on your watch list. Released in 2016, the movie sheds light on discrimination in the workplace in the 1960s. The film was a hit among audiences and one of the year’s best movies.

Most parts of the movie were shot in Atlanta, along with this scene wherein the three lead ladies are out in a garden.

Many of us have gone on the adventure with Marty and Doc in the Back to the Future franchise. For the first one, the duo travels to the past using a time machine (a pretty famous one now) to help Marty’s parents fall in love.

If anybody wants to retrace the steps of the eccentric duo, heading to South LaSalle Street in Chicago is a good start, where some scenes were shot.

The Danish Girl is a biographical drama that is a moving and poignant movie. The movie talks about a groundbreaking time in our history, narrated by the book’s author that inspired it.

Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander play the main leads, with Vikander winning an Oscar for her role. The principal shooting of this movie happened in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the city’s beautiful architecture is visible in the film.

The 2019 movie Joker, wherein actor Joaquin Phoenix painted his face white for the iconic role of the supervillain, is considered a masterpiece by many. The movie follows Joker’s character before becoming Batman’s biggest nemesis.

The famous poster of this movie shows Phoenix standing on a stairwell in his Joker getup. As usual, the internet quickly figured out where the location was, and it turns out it wasn’t very far off, but just West 167th Street. This street has become a significant tourist spot, with fans coming to pose in the place Phoenix did.

There probably isn’t a single person who can watch the lovely animated movie Up and not feel their heartstrings tug. The film follows an old widower who is learning to live again and, in the process, meets a young boy.

The house featured in the movie is integral to it, as it becomes the vessel of change for the older man. Fans in Utah spotted the house that inspired its animated counterpart, and fans love to take photos in front of it.

Wonder Woman was DC’s hit that made everyone stand up and take notice not only of the franchise but of actress Gal Gadot. Overnight, Gadot became the face of Wonder Woman and one of DC’s most formidable superheroes.

A scene from the movie was shot in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London. The scene stars actresses Gadot, aka Wonder Woman, and Lucy Davis, who plays Etta Candy, are featured.

This holiday movie will bring a smile to your face, joy to your heart, and an overall feeling of love into your life. Featuring the charismatic Emilia Clarke and the charming Henry Goulding, the movie was mostly shot in London, England.

The scene where Goulding teaches Clarke skating was shot in the Alexandra Palace Ice Rink in London. It’s just one of the city’s many fabulous spots featured in the holiday rom-com.

Another biographical drama filmed in the gritty streets of Boston, the 2015 movie Spotlight follows an investigative unit of The Boston Globe newspaper. The team works at uncovering some dangerous secrets lurking under the streets of Boston, and what the audience gets is a movie that will blow their minds out of the water.

One of the scenes from the Oscar-winning movie saw actress Rachel McAdams, a part of the team in the film, conduct an interview at cafe South End Buttery on 314 Shawmut Ave in Boston.

Ted is a comedy movie, through and through, about a man and his best friend – a talking teddy bear named Ted. Yes, this movie is entirely fictional, but it does have many real-life locations where you can go where Ted went.

One scene in the movie takes place in Boston’s Public Garden, where Ted poses for a photo with a group of women.

The Departed is another movie wherein Boston is not just a place but a living, breathing city that plays a part as much as the characters. The epic thriller, released in 2006, was critically acclaimed, bagging numerous awards that year.

One of the scenes of the movie, wherein the characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, and Martin Sheen (yes, we know, this is a powerhouse cast) have a heated argument. This scene was actually filmed under a modest highway bridge in Quincy.

We all know that when it comes to preparing for a role, actor Johnny Depp leaves no stone unturned. Whether for his stint as Willy Wonka or Jack Sparrow, the man gives it his all. One such preparation he underwent was for the movie Black Mass, wherein he played Whitey Bulger.

The movie was another cinematic piece shot under Quincy’s bridge. Let’s just say that the bridge’s shade is a hot spot for directors looking to shoot dark scenes.

Iron Will is a slightly different movie in the sense that it’s based on a true story of a 1917 dog-sled race. You might not hear about this sport every day but, like all sports movies, this one also works on the underlying themes of hope and determination.

One of the movie’s scenes with actors Kevin Spacey and Mackenzie Astin was shot at the Greysolon Ballroom in Duluth, a port city in Minnesota.

The fantasy-comedy drama Only Lovers Left Alive is not the one you pick if you’re looking for a brain-numbing distraction after work. The 2013 movie focuses on the romance between two vampires who sometimes get enthusiastic while eating.

Regardless, the critically acclaimed movie starring Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton was a hit with viewers. If you ever want to take a trip to where the filming took place, you only need to go down to the place which was once the Michigan Theater and is now a parking lot.

Deadpool, the most popular anti-hero of today’s date and age, burst into the limelight in 2016 when Ryan Reynolds donned the red suit and became the sarcastic and mouthy Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool.

Reynolds’ Deadpool existed in the Marvel universe without really interacting with the regulars. However, his acting had a fan base that rivaled all the others. One of the places where the movie came to life was in Vancouver, British Columbia.

If you’ve ever seen an X-Men movie, you’re probably enamored with the school professor Charles Xavier ran for the gifted youngsters’ group.

Even though you might never get to enroll in the school in real life, you can go there and pretend to be a student. The place used to shoot the school scene is Hatley Castle in Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The castle appears in many X-Men movies and Deadpool, as well.

Not all locations shown in movies are what they appear to be. A museum is not always a museum; a home is sometimes just three walls on a set.

Similarly, in a scene in Captain America: Civil War, the team is supposedly at a Berlin Airport facility for a pow-wow. However, in reality, the scene wasn’t shot at any airport but at a parking garage in Midtown Atlanta. Yes, it’s slightly disappointing, but a director’s got to do what a director’s got to do.

The first movie in the Captain America series brought Chris Evans to international acclaim, overnight. The film follows Steve Rogers’ transformation from a regular person to a mighty superhero.

One of the locations for the shoot of this movie is in Liverpool, UK. The city has many docks, one of which was used in the film. Sadly, the port has since been reconstructed, so you might not get to see the exact location anymore.

The mind-bending movie Inception brought a new life to the sci-fi genre, cementing Leonardo DiCaprio’s status as a man whose Oscar remained long overdue.

In one of the scenes, DiCaprio’s character Cobb shows graduate student Ariadne, played by Ellen Page (now known as Elliot Page), his dream architecture. The powerful scene was shot at a bridge next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It seems that only iconic locations are allowed for iconic movies.

For many movie critics and superhero fans, The Dark Knight is a movie that cannot be compared or surpassed by any other. The film introduced Heath Ledger as Joker, a portrayal so iconic that it’s gone down in cinematic history as one of the finest.

The shooting of this movie took place in Chicago, and this particular scene was shot on a public street in downtown Chicago. It might not be much, but any movie fan is sure to have goosebumps standing at this exact place.

The iconic scene in the movie of two friends finding love is something we can never replicate in cinematic history. Meg Ryan’s performance is the stuff of legends, and even the restaurant where it was shot knows this!

Meg Ryan’s epic fake-out occurred in Katz’s Delicatessen on the Lower East Side in New York. Even today, the restaurant has a sign dangling from the ceiling that says, ‘I hope you have what she had.’ That’s what we call capitalizing on a great opportunity!