From Harry Potter To Paddington

The Most Iconic Film Characters Spotted in London

14:57 18 October 2021

For a decade now, London has become a location spot for history-making blockbuster films across a variety of genres.

 

London Underground stations have seen a recent surge in the past few years as a prime filming location and a new infographic at idealinsight.co.uk/blog/silver-screen-stations/ has demonstrated some of the most popular London underground scenes to have ever been shot and here are some of them.

 

Paddington (2014)

 

The famous Paddington; this movie had huge success and it was based on the story of a young bear that left Peru to find greener pastures in London. How did the name Paddington come about? This young bear was found by a family called The Browns on the platform of the Paddington station and gave it the name Paddington ever since.

 

It was only fitting and natural for the filmmakers to choose the London Paddington Station as the film's location, and this 2014 movie made the Paddington station very popular and something of a religion for lovers of the movie. The station has even become sort of a cultural tourist attraction for lovers of the movie.

 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

 

The Harry Potter story was such an iconic franchise that everyone wanted to immerse themselves in the wizarding world.

 

The movie had unforgettable scenes shot at the King's Cross station where there was a magical barrier that allows young wizards to gain access to Hogwarts by running through the wall at Platform 9 ¾. The Harry Potter franchise is undoubtedly one of the most popular British film franchises of all time, and the Platform 9 ¾ at the king's Cross location has become a tourist attraction because many wanted to see this wall that was famous for young wizards running through it.

 

Many Harry Potter enthusiasts living outside London travel to this spot at King's Cross station to take pictures of themselves at the popular platform 9 ¾ sign.

 

Fast and Furious 6 (2013)

 

The Aldwych station is renowned for its frequent use as a location set in many blockbuster movies. Though it no longer functions as a station, it is very ideal for a movie set, especially for scenes that necessitate disordered locations.

 

In Fast and Furious 6, the memorable scene that occurred was the fight scene between Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Riley (Gina Carano). What made this scene so exciting was the fact there were no special effects used and it was actually real on-screen fighting.

 

Nevertheless, one of the biggest challenges during this film shoot was the fact that the station barely had any working elevators, so the crew would have to walk down 100 narrow steps while carrying various heavy film equipment in preparation to shoot this scene.

 

Love Actually (2003)

 

Canary Wharf in London was a filming location in the Empire Award-winning movie, Love Actually. We can notice the location when Jamie (Colin Firth) was in a hurry to complete his shopping for Christmas.

 

Jamie is trying to impress his love interest, Aurelia, by learning to speak Portuguese while listening to educational recordings and there is one scene where he can be seen carrying his bag of presents.

 

Conclusion

 

These London Underground stations are fast becoming tourist attractions as people want to see the video production locations of their favourite blockbuster movies.

 

Though New York is still ahead of London as the location for famous blockbusters, London is not too far behind as filmmakers are beginning to key in using these Underground Stations. In a few years from now, we can expect these London stations to be the "silver screen culture."