Directed by James Hawes and adapted from Robert Littell’s 1981 novel, THE AMATEUR (2025) movie is a gripping spy thriller starring Rami Malek as Charlie Heller, a CIA decoder who takes matters into his own hands after his wife Sarah (played by Rachel Brosnahan) is killed in a London terrorist attack. With Laurence Fishburne and Jon Bernthal rounding out the main cast, the film blends high-intensity action with global espionage.
Released on April 11, 2025, by 20th Century Studios and streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+, the production made heavy use of diverse and visually striking international locations. Below, we explore each filming site that helped bring the world of “The Amateur” to life.
WHEN WAS “THE AMATEUR” FILMED?
Principal photography began in London in June 2023, with additional shoots extending across England, France, and Turkey. The filming schedule was interrupted in July 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, then resumed in December 2023. Let’s explore the key locations used throughout the film.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
London is an important part of both the story and the production of THE AMATEUR. The story starts with a terrible terrorist attack in the city, which serves as both an emotional and practical starting point for Charlie Heller’s search for revenge.
St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel
Used As: The fictional “Christopher Hotel”
Scene: Site of the terrorist attack that kills Sarah Heller
Details: The grand Gothic Revival architecture of St Pancras provided a visually dramatic setting. Though the hotel’s real name wasn’t used in the film due to branding restrictions, its iconic exterior is unmistakable. Director James Hawes wanted the moment to feel grounded in surveillance realism, so he passed out iPhones to crew members to record different angles of the event—footage that was incorporated into the final edit.
Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank
Used As: CIA headquarters entrance (Langley)
Scene: Exterior of CIA operations
Details: Queen Elizabeth Hall’s brutalist design made it a perfect stand-in for the entrance to Langley’s headquarters. From outside, its imposing gray facade makes it look like you’re in a government building without actually being in the U.S.
St Anthony’s College, Oxford
Used As: CIA canteen interior
Scene: Langley cafeteria conversations
Details: The inside had a clean, school-like look that was changed to fit the setting of the movie, which is an intelligence agency. It made it seem more real without having to deal with the problems that come with filming in real government buildings.
Old Heinz Headquarters, Hayes
Used As: Langley parking area
Scene: Parking lot shots outside CIA HQ
Details: The big, empty commercial site, which looked like a real Langley lot, had plenty of room for setting up scenes with cars and security checkpoints.
Aldermaston (Former Nuclear Base)
Used As: CIA interior offices
Scene: Tactical meetings, tech labs, surveillance rooms
Details: The decommissioned nuclear site had underground tunnels and dark rooms that were perfect for scenes that took place in the middle of CIA operations. Its concrete-heavy architecture made me think of secret meetings during the Cold War.
Smith & Wollensky, Covent Garden
Used As: Georgetown restaurant, Washington D.C.
Scene: A tense lunch meeting between CIA officials
Details: Located in central London, this upscale American steakhouse was cleverly used to depict a Washington D.C. setting. Actor Holt McCallany’s pasta-eating performance was shot here, reportedly involving multiple bowls across takes for continuity.
Embassy Gardens Sky Pool, Nine Elms
Used As: Rooftop pool in Madrid hotel
Scene: Explosion set-piece
Details: Although the film features events set in Madrid, no actual filming took place in Spain. Scenes portrayed as Madrid were shot at Embassy Gardens in London and in Turkey. It offered a modern and visually unique setting for a key action sequence, which involved a three-day shoot. Director Hawes noted that residents were quite entertained by the filming activity.
Fabric Nightclub & Blondies Bar (Hackney)
Used As: Marseille nightclubs
Scene: Charlie’s clubbing scenes in Marseille
Details: Rather than fly to France, the production recreated Marseille nightlife using two popular London clubs. Fabric served as a superclub, while Blondies, a compact dive bar known for its metal nights, stood in for a French hip hop venue. These provided dynamic, edgy locations for scenes reflecting Charlie’s PTSD-fueled descent into danger.
SUFFOLK, ENGLAND, UK
A retired airbase in Suffolk doubled as Camp Peary, the CIA’s training facility known as “The Farm.” It’s here where Heller receives weapons training from Fishburne’s character.
PINEWOOD STUDIOS, ENGLAND
Pinewood Studios provided controlled environments for multiple set pieces, including safe houses, CIA tech labs, and tightly choreographed sequences. Some water-based scenes were filmed in the studio’s large exterior and underwater tanks.
Notably, Hanwell Cricket Club was used for interior café scenes in the Russian port of Primorsk. Later, the set was replicated and rebuilt on location in Turkey for continuity.
KENT, ENGLAND, UK (HOME FARM IN SWALE)
Home Farm in Swale was used as a key stand-in for a traditional American countryside home. The location is believed to represent the house shared by Charlie and Sarah Heller before her death. The production needed a setting that visually evoked East Coast Americana, and Home Farm—with its white weatherboarded exteriors, wide verandas, and rolling countryside views—fit the vision perfectly.
Located in Kent, this colonial-style villa is well-known in the UK filming circuit. Its interiors feature vintage-chic decor, including reclaimed wood floors and rustic chateau-style doors, which add to the domestic warmth portrayed in early scenes of the couple’s home life.
The property is no stranger to screen time, having appeared in productions like Black Mirror: Beyond the Sea (2023), Love Again (2023), and The Unfamiliar (2020). Its versatility and seclusion make it an ideal location for period settings or intimate domestic scenes requiring a timeless, non-European aesthetic.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Istanbul served as a vital filming location for the final act of The Amateur, providing both visual flair and narrative depth. Director James Hawes chose the city for its symbolic role as a crossroads between East and West—a fitting metaphor for the film’s themes of global espionage and blurred political lines. With its layered architecture, from Ottoman-era landmarks to sleek modern skyscrapers, Istanbul offered dynamic backdrops that could double for multiple international settings, including Russia and Madrid. The city’s lesser-used locations also allowed the production to avoid overexposed tourist icons and focus on atmosphere, tension, and authenticity.
Turkish Dockyard (Outside Istanbul)
Used As: Russian Port of Primorsk
Scene: Final confrontation and espionage operations
Details: Originally planned for Riga, Latvia, the Russian dockyard scenes were relocated to a Turkish port due to strike-related delays. The presence of real Russian ships in the area added credibility to the setting. Director James Hawes found the gritty, industrial look ideal for staging high-stakes sequences involving Rami Malek’s character, Charlie Heller, in a climactic showdown.
Luxury Hotel, Central Istanbul
Used As: A Mediterranean hotel where Charlie tracks a target
Scene: Espionage pursuit and covert operations
Details: Blending traditional Ottoman architectural elements with sleek modern design, this luxury hotel served as a fictional Mediterranean destination. It provided a visually compelling backdrop for Charlie’s tense infiltration and chase scenes during the third act.
Turkish Port (Recreated Hanwell Cricket Club Exterior)
Used As: Café exterior in a Russian port
Scene: Secretive meeting between Charlie Heller and Jon Bernthal’s operative
Details: While the interior of the café was filmed at Hanwell Cricket Club in England, the exterior was rebuilt at a Turkish port for continuity. This clever use of duplicate sets allowed the filmmakers to maintain a seamless visual flow despite changing countries.
Istanbul Streets and Transit Areas
Used As: Charlie’s covert arrival in Turkey
Scene: Smuggling and surveillance sequences
Details: Narrow alleys, public transportation nodes, and crowded marketplaces around Istanbul were used to depict Charlie’s tense entry into the country. These locations added realism and a lived-in texture to the film’s espionage tone.
FRANCE (PARIS AND MARSEILLE)
France offered a versatile backdrop for several pivotal scenes in The Amateur. The production focused on crafting realistic surveillance and action sequences across two main cities—Paris and Marseille—while steering clear of overused landmarks.
L’Enclos de Ninon, Paris
Used As: Parisian café where Heller observes a target
Scene: Surveillance stakeout
Details: This cake shop in the 5th arrondissement offered a quaint, authentic backdrop for a scene where Heller monitors one of his targets. Its warm interiors contrasted with the tense nature of espionage, and its quiet location aligned with the film’s tone of secrecy.
Parisian Apartment District
Used As: Residential area for espionage activity
Scene: Lock-picking and silent infiltration
Details: Filming avoided iconic landmarks to maintain realism. Instead, narrow residential alleys and local apartments provided believable sites for Charlie’s covert missions.
Martigues, Near Marseille
Used As: Inquiline’s Turkish beach hideout
Scene: Coastal rendezvous
Details: Though meant to depict a hideout near Istanbul, this French coastal village beside a large oil refinery delivered the remote, industrial look needed for the scene. The area’s windswept shoreline and sparse buildings supported the film’s tone of isolation.
Local Bar, Marseille
Used As: Urban meeting point
Scene: Bar confrontation ending in explosion
Details: A gritty Marseille bar was the setting for one of the film’s action highlights. The venue’s rustic charm and tight layout amplified the scene’s tension.
Provence Studios
Used As: Interior sets and production base
Scene: Various interior shots and transitions
Details: The studio provided flexibility for filming interiors while the crew moved across southern France, ensuring consistent visual quality and production control.
France’s varied geography, architectural authenticity, and competitive tax incentives made it an ideal choice for a film that traverses multiple countries while maintaining a coherent and realistic spy-thriller aesthetic.
BEHIND THE SCENES DETAILS
Director James Hawes emphasized authenticity, using minimal CGI and maximizing practical locations. For the Christopher Hotel sequence, the team distributed iPhones among crew members to capture footage from different perspectives, awarding the best shot with champagne.
Many of the actors, including Holt McCallany, were praised for their dedication during takes—particularly a dining scene where McCallany consumed multiple bowls of pasta to maintain continuity.
The production leaned on European tax rebates, especially from France, while avoiding clichéd location shots. Hawes deliberately bypassed landmarks to immerse audiences in a believable, contemporary espionage world.
OFFICIAL TRAILER
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