Gal Gadot’s character, Rachel Stone, traveled the world in Heart of Stone, and it turns out that the actress, along with the other cast members and crew, of course, flew all around to film scenes for the Netflix spy action thriller. Aside from Gadot, the cast includes Jamie Dornan, Alia Bhatt, Sophie Okonedo, Jing Lusi, Paul Ready, Jon Kortajarena, Archie Madekwe, Matthias Schweighöfer, BD Wong, Glenn Close, and Mark Ivanir. Tom Harper, best known for his work on Peaky Blinders and War & Peace, directed Heart of Stone, while Greg Rucka and Allison Schroeder wrote the screenplay.
The 2023 Netflix movie revolved around Rachel Stone, an MI6 agent who worked in tech support, doing whatever it took to ensure an artificial intelligence program called the Heart did not get into the wrong hands. The mission led Rachel through a treacherous journey as she and her team protected Heart from their enemies. As a result, the characters traveled to multiple countries and continents during Heart of Stone.
Senales, Italy
Heart of Stone began in the Italian Alps, or more specifically, Senales, Italy, where the cast and crew shot the opening sequence, according to Netflix. The main characters gathered at the casino in the Glacier Hotel Grawand, the highest hotel in Europe and a ski lodge, where the MI6 team planned to extract Mulvaney, an arms dealer and asset. The Glacier Hotel Grawand sits at 3,212 meters (or 10,538 feet) above sea level and is the only lodge to look down upon the mountain range instead of looking up at it. The production chose this daring place as the location for the film’s opening scene.
The cast and crew (and everyone wishing to go to the Glacier Hotel Grawand) had to take the Val Senales glacier cable car to get to the ski lodge since it sits on top of a mountain. The production crew set the film’s tone by beginning their journey 10,538 feet above the ground and having Gal Gadot’s character jump off the side of the hotel and parachute down. But Heart of Stone didn’t stop its globetrotting adventure in Senales, Italy.
Lisbon, Portugal
The MI6 team, which included Rachel Stone, Parker, Bailey, and Yang, traveled to Lisbon, Portugal, to track down a hacker in Heart of Stone, and just as the cast and crew did with the opening sequence in Senales, Italy, the makers of the film flew to Lisbon to shoot the scenes in Portugal. Of course, since the Netflix project is an action movie, they filmed a big chase sequence while on location in Lisbon. The cast drove through the Portuguese streets during an ambush, and this is where it was revealed that Rachel and Parker were both double agents — Rachel truly worked for Charter, and Parker worked with the hacker.
The production of Heart of Stone got to utilize as much of Lisbon as possible. They were allowed to film the chase scene through the central square in the historic city but were careful not to damage any property. The cast and crew only made it look like they were tearing through the streets of Lisbon — it probably would not have gone over very well with the city officials if they had truly wrecked any significant parts of the city.
London, England
Once they were done in Portugal, some of the cast and crew of Heart of Stone traveled to the United Kingdom to shoot an important scene at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. This is where the Four Kings (Sophie Okonedo as Nomad, Glenn Close as King of Diamonds, BD Wong as King of Clubs, and Mark Ivanir as King of Spades), the heads of Charter’s four divisions, met to discuss Parker’s betrayal and his mission to gain access to the Heart. Since the writers and producers of the Netflix film were going for authenticity, the actors shot the scene at the Royal Albert Hall.
Reykjavík, Iceland
Another significant filming spot in Heart of Stone is Reykjavík, Iceland, the location of the Netflix spy action movie’s climax. The characters (along with the cast and crew) traveled to Iceland, which was where Charter tracked down Parker and Keya. The production team included two major Icelandic landmarks in their film — Harpa, a famous concert hall, and the Hallgrímskirkja Church, the tallest building in the country. As viewers will remember, Harpa exploded in the movie, killing one member of the Four Kings. But, of course, in real life, no harm was done to the iconic structure.
The stars and crew members shot the scene outside the Harpa Concert Hall. However, they had movie magic on their side to ensure they didn’t damage the landmark. The production team also left the Hallgrímskirkja Church intact, despite filming action scenes on location. According to Netflix, motorcycle stuntperson Dan Wyle jumped over the six-foot wall surrounding the church, which can be seen in Heart of Stone’s ending.
