American Assassin filmed London as Istanbul

Michael Cuesta’s action movie American Assassin filmed a south London high street as Istanbul for the story of a young counter-terrorism agent chasing villains around the world.

By Nick Goundry 19 Sep 2017

American Assassin filmed London as Istanbul
American Assassin

Michael Cuesta’s action movie American Assassin filmed a south London high street as Istanbul for the story of a young counter-terrorism agent.

Shops in the borough of Croydon were dressed and filmed as the Turkish city over a three-week period last summer.

“They established an atmospheric Turkish restaurant on the corner of St George’s Walk, and the entire parade of shops along St George’s Walk was dressed as an area of Istanbul,” said Andrew Pavord, director of FilmFixer, which manages the film office service for Croydon Council.

“Pictures vehicles – or cars that appear in the film – lined St George’s Walk to make it look like a busy street.”

Croydon has appeared on camera before for high-profile productions, usually as a convenient stand-in for other parts of the world.

Brad Pitt’s satirical Netflix movie War Machine is largely set in Afghanistan but the production team shot briefly at Croydon’s historic Addington Palace, using the building as a double for the residence of the president of Afghanistan.

Image: Christian Black/CBS Films/Lions Gate Films

“They established an atmospheric Turkish restaurant on the corner of St George’s Walk, and the entire parade of shops along St George’s Walk was dressed as an area of Istanbul,” said Andrew Pavord, director of FilmFixer, which manages the film office service for Croydon Council.

“Pictures vehicles – or cars that appear in the film – lined St George’s Walk to make it look like a busy street.”

Croydon has appeared on camera before for high-profile productions, usually as a convenient stand-in for other parts of the world.

Brad Pitt’s satirical Netflix movie War Machine is largely set in Afghanistan but the production team shot briefly at Croydon’s historic Addington Palace, using the building as a double for the residence of the president of Afghanistan.

Image: Christian Black/CBS Films/Lions Gate Films

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