skip to main content
The Royal Parks web site uses cookies. By browsing you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Read our cookie policy
  • Home
  • Royal Parks
  • Support
  • Media Centre
  • Careers
  • Shop
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • searchsearch
The Royal Parks menu
  • Visitor information
    • The parks after lockdown
    • Opening times and getting there
    • Accessibility information
    • Park Deck Chairs
    • Parking in Regent's Park
    • Park regulations, legislation and policies
    • Contact The Regent's Park
    • Feeding birds and animals
  • Map of Regent's Park
  • Food and drink
    • The Regent's Bar & Kitchen
    • The Broad Walk Cafe
    • The Espresso Bar
    • The Boathouse Cafe
    • The Hub Cafe
    • Refreshment points
    • Primrose Hill Café
    • Will To Win Sports Centre Café
  • Things to see and do
    • Events in Regent's Park
    • Primrose Hill
    • The Hub - Sports Facility
    • Gardens and landscapes
    • Memorials, fountains and statues
    • Sports and leisure
    • Wildlife
    • ZSL London Zoo
    • Music for Trees mobile app
    • Children's playgrounds
  • Latest News
    • Weather station data
  • About Regent's Park
    • History and Architecture
    • Landscape History
    • Regent's Park in film
  • Donate
searchSearch
  • The Royal Parks
  • Visitor information
    arrow_drop_down
    • The parks after lockdown
    • Opening times and getting there
    • Accessibility information
    • Park Deck Chairs
    • Parking in Regent's Park
    • Park regulations, legislation and policies
    • Contact The Regent's Park
    • Feeding birds and animals
  • Map of Regent's Park
  • Food and drink
    arrow_drop_down
    • The Regent's Bar & Kitchen
    • The Broad Walk Cafe
    • The Espresso Bar
    • The Boathouse Cafe
    • The Hub Cafe
    • Refreshment points
    • Primrose Hill Café
    • Will To Win Sports Centre Café
  • Things to see and do
    arrow_drop_down
    • Events in Regent's Park
    • Primrose Hill
    • The Hub - Sports Facility
    • Gardens and landscapes
    • Memorials, fountains and statues
    • Sports and leisure
    • Wildlife
    • ZSL London Zoo
    • Music for Trees mobile app
    • Children's playgrounds
  • Latest News
    arrow_drop_down
    • Weather station data
  • About Regent's Park
    arrow_drop_down
    • History and Architecture
    • Landscape History
    • Regent's Park in film
  •  
  • Donate
    • Home
    • Royal Parks
    • Support
    • Media Centre
    • Careers
    • Shop
    • About us
    • Contact us
  • The Regent's Park and Primrose Hill
  • 
  • About Regent's Park
  • 

Regent's Park in film

One would-be wizard, an American secret agent, a pair of illicit lovers and two frustrated thirty-somethings have all made films in and around Regent's Park.

The would-be wizard is, of course, Harry Potter. An early scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) is set at London Zoo within The Regent's Park. During a visit to the reptile house, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) first discovers he has unusual powers when he talks to the snakes and unwittingly frees a boa constrictor.

The secret agent is Nathan Muir in Tony Scott's thriller Spy Game (2001). Early in the film, he is called to CIA headquarters at Langley. The Outer Circle of Regent's Park, with its elegant Regency terraces, stood in for the journey Muir makes from his home in Washington DC.

The illicit lovers were filmed over 50 years ago on the Regent's Park boating lake. This was a pivotal scene in David Lean's classic British romance, Brief Encounter (1945). Alec and Laura, played by Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson, are in a rowing boat when Alec stumbles off the end of the boat near the Long Bridge and ends up knee-deep in water.

More recently, in About a Boy (2002), the lake in Queen Mary's Garden became a romantic hunting ground for Will, a rich but shallow thirty-something played by Hugh Grant. Will courts single mothers in the park because he thinks they are easy targets. There's no conquest but he makes friends with twelve-year-old Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) and the two have a heart-to-heart next to the famous penguin pool at the zoo.

Beyond the zoo, on Primrose Hill, love is also in the air for another thirty-something in the opening credits of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004). Bridget (Renee Zellweger), dressed in a Sound of Music costume, runs into the arms of Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). But then she asks "What happens after they live happily ever after?" See Kensington Gardens for more Bridget Jones locations.

*London Zoo is where David (David Naughton) wakes up in An American Werewolf in London (1981), after attacking tramps near Tower Bridge. In Withnail and I (1987), Withnail (Richard E Grant) takes a final stroll with Marwood (Paul McGann) before delivering a soliloquy from Hamlet outside the wolf enclosure. The zoo's Prince Albert Suite was used for the Jewish wedding reception in the comedy, Leon the Pig Farmer (1993).

About Regent's Park 

History and Architecture

Landscape History

Help us improve our website by providing your feedback.

Website user survey

close

search
Explore the Royal Parks
  • Hyde Park
  • Kensington Gardens
  • Richmond Park
  • Bushy Park
  • St James's Park
  • The Green Park
  • The Regent's Park and Primrose Hill
  • Greenwich Park
  • Greenwich Park Revealed - Park Restoration Project
  • Brompton Cemetery
  • Victoria Tower Gardens
  • Grosvenor Square Garden
Support the parks
  • Make a donation
  • Philanthropy and major giving
  • Leave a gift in your Will 
  • Run, cycle or swim for the parks
  • Hire The LookOut, Hyde Park
  • Become a partner
  • Corporate volunteering
  • Dedications in your local park
Media Centre
  • Press Releases
  • Royal Parks News Permit
  • Filming and photography
  • Royal Parks Image Library
  • News Archive
  • Trooping the Colour media accreditation
About us
  • Who we are
  • What we do
  • Procurement
  • Partner organisations
  • Publications
  • Friends of The Royal Parks
  • Contact us
  • Modern Slavery Statement
Connect with us
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Watch our videos on YouTube
The Royal Parks

The Royal Parks is a registered charity (No. 1172042) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales no. 10016100 (VAT No. 261 4640 19)

Copyright © The Royal Parks 2016-2022 | Head Office: The Old Police House, Hyde Park, London. W2 2UHTerms & Conditions | Privacy Policy

close

Subscribe to our eNewsletter today

Be the first to hear our latest news and read about upcoming events, learning and volunteering opportunities, fundraising and park improvement projects when you sign up to our mailing list.

Aerial view of Regents