Last Updated: January 20, 2022
Famous Movies Filmed In North Carolina
North Carolina is a beautiful state, so it’s not surprising that some of the most famous movies ever made were filmed there. If you want to know exactly which popular movies were filmed in this US state, then you’re definitely in the right place!
Rom-coms, thrillers, comedies, and dramas have all featured beautiful North Carolina landscapes, including the lakes, the mountains, and the big cities. Read on to see the 15 most famous movies that were filmed in North Carolina, and don’t be surprised if you suddenly get the urge for a movie marathon!
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Patch Adams
Patch Adams is a comedy-drama from the late 90s, starring Robin Willians, Monica Potter, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The film is set in the late 1960s, and it follows the life story of Dr. Hunter Patch Adams. Although it wasn’t received that well by the critics, the film was actually quite popular among its viewers.
Patch Adams is based on a true story, and the screenplay was adapted from the book Gesundheit: Good Health is a Laughing Matter. However, the film does deviate from the book quite a bit, which is one of the main reasons why it wasn’t received that well initially.
The movie was filmed in locations in California and North Carolina. Asheville was the main location for a lot of the scenes in the movie, and some scenes were also shot at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Most scenes shot in California were filmed on Treasure Island, and some were shot on the campus of UC Berkeley and in Richmond.
Green Mile
Green Mile is one of the most famous films of all time. It’s an adaptation of the novel The Green Mile by Stephen King, and it stars Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clark Duncan, and Bonnie Hunt, among others.
Tom Hanks plays the part of Paul Edgecomb, a death row prison guard, and he witnesses supernatural events after a mysterious convict (played by Michael Clark Duncan) is imprisoned at the facility.
The nursing home scenes are the only ones that were filmed in North Carolina – the rest of the movie was shot in Tenessee. The Flat Top Manor building was used for shots of the nursing home. The 20-room mansion is situated at Blue Ridge Parkway, in the Moses Cone Memorial Park which is between Asheville and Winston-Salem in western North Carolina.
Nights in Rodanthe
Nights in Rodanthe is a romance drama starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. The film was adapted from the same-name novel by Nicholas Sparks – a famous US author who lives in North Carolina and likes to use the state as a setting for most of his novels.
Just like most other stories written by Nicholas Sparks, the movie is a tear-jerker with a few (depressing) twists and turns. It tells the story of Adrienne Willis, who travels to Rodanthe to take care of her friend’s inn.
The only guest at the inn is Paul Flanner, and when a storm threatens the inn, the two must work together to protect it. Eventually, they start relying on each other for support and they fall in love, but the movie has a rather tragic ending, just like everything else Nicholas Sparks has ever written.
The movie’s name tells you exactly where in North Carolina most of it was filmed – right there in Rodanthe! The small village is situated in Dare County, on Hatteras Island (eastern North Carolina coast).
Nell
Nell is a 1994 drama starring Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson, Richard Libertini, Natasha Richardson, and Nick Searcy. Foster portrays the titular character, Nell – a girl who has grown up in an isolated world, and who is initially believed to be a feral child.
She’s only ever been in contact with her identical twin sister and mother, and after they both passed, Nell is discovered by doctors who are fascinated by her. She doesn’t even speak proper English – Nell mispronounces most of the words, but that’s because she’s only ever talked to two people – her mother who suffered from aphasia after a stroke, and her sister who she had developed a secret language with.
Nell feels most at home in the forest, so quite a few of the scenes were shot out in the woods. The Nantahala National Forest is one of the locations used for these scenes, and so is the Cheoah Ranger District and the area surrounding Fontana Lake.
The movie was entirely shot in North Carolina, and the cities that are most featured in the film are Charlotte, Robbinsville, and Franklin.
Shallow Hal
Shallow Hal is a comedy from 2001, which stars Jack Black and Gwynneth Paltrow. Jack Black plays the role of Hal – a very shallow man who is all about appearances until he falls in love with a 300-pound woman played by Gwynneth Paltrow. He does so after being hypnotized to only see the inner beauty of a person, which leads to a series of extremely funny events.
The movie was filmed in and around Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as Sterling and Princeton in Massachusetts. The filming locations in and around Charlotte include the JPS Funds building, St. Pete’s Episcopal Church, North Tryon Street, The Capital Grille, South End, and South Tyron Street. These aren’t the only North Carolina locations featured in the movie, but they are the most prominent ones.
Bull Durham
Bull Durham is a romantic sports comedy starring Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon. It tells the story of players and fans of the Durham Bulls, which is a minor league baseball team from North Carolina.
Kevin Costner plays the role of Crash Davis, who is a veteran catcher brought into the team to mentor the rookie pitcher played by Tim Robbins. Sarandon portrays the part of a baseball groupie who flirts with both main characters.
The movie takes place in North Carolina, and only a few of the scenes were shot outside the state. Locations featured in the iconic sports rom-com include the Durham Athletic Park, Duke University, and Mitch’s Tavern. The movie was filmed in Asheville, Durham, and Raleigh cities, and in addition to the Durham Athletic Park, stadiums in Greensboro, Burlington, and Wilson are also featured in Bull Durham.
The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans is another iconic American film. It is an epic historical drama set in the 18th century, which tells the story of the French and Indian War. The movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, and Jodhi May, and was widely successful both among the critics and commercially.
The story of the film takes place in upstate New York during colonial times, but most of the film was actually short in the North Carolina mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains, the Chimney Rock State Park, and the Pisgah National Forest are a few of the North Carolina locations that are featured in this film.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a sports comedy starring Will Farrell, John C. Reilly, Sasha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, and Michael Clarke Duncan. The movie tells the story of Ricky Bobby, a man from North Carolina who dreams of wanting to go fast. Bobby eventually goes on to race in NASCAR and gains fame and fortune.
He crashes at one of the races, and his life goes downhill after that. However, the comedy does have a happy ending, with Bobby eventually getting back into racing and winning the race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Although the Talladega Superspeedway is prominently featured in the film, the crew filmed there for only about a week. Most of the racing scenes were filmed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Other North Carolina locations featured in the movie as the Rockingham Speedway and Lake Norman.
A Walk To Remember
A Walk To Remember is another one of Nicholas Spark’s tragic drama novels that were adapted into movies. It’s a coming-of-age story starring Shane West and Mandy Moore, which follows high-schoolers Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan.
The film focuses on their relationship and its ups and downs until it is revealed in true Nicholas Sparks fashion that Jamie has leukemia that isn’t responding to treatments.
The story is set in Beaufort, which is a small town in eastern North Carolina. The movie was filmed in Wilmington, which is about 100 miles south of Beaufort. Sets from Dawson Creek were used for quite a lot of scenes in the movie.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
I Know What You Did Last Summer is a horror mystery film from the late 90s. It stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr., who play four friends that start getting murdered one by one, a year after they covered up a car accident in which they killed a man.
Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was commercially successful enough that it eventually got two sequels. The first installment of the movie was shot in Southport, a town that is about 30 miles south of Wilmington.
Some of the North Carolina locations featured in the film are Portuguese Beach, Schoolhouse Beach, Fishy Fishy Cafe, Roft Ross Store, and Duke University.
Weekend at Bernie’s
Weekend at Bernie’s is an iconic dark comedy that stars Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart, and Terry Kiser. The movie follows the events that happen after two insurance corporation employees arrive at their boss’ house in the Hamptons, only to discover that he is dead.
They then decide to make it look like he’s alive so that no one would think that the two of them were behind the murder. All the scenes that take place on Hampton Island were actually shot in North Carolina.
Most scenes in the movie were filmed on Bald Head Island, including the iconic waterskiing scenes. Bernie’s house was built for the purposes of the movie on the Fort Fisher Recreation Area, and it was dismantled after the shooting finished.
Sleeping with the Enemy
Sleeping with the Enemy is another iconic American movie from the 90s. The romantic psychological thriller starring Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, and Kevin Anderson was a box office success, despite mostly negative reviews from the critics.
It follows the story of Laura Burney, a young woman who fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her controlling and abusive husband. She manages to start over in a different state, but Martin, her abusive husband, eventually discovers she is alive and catches up with her.
The movie was filmed in several locations throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, and Ohio. Kure Beach, Wilmington, and Wrightsville Beach are the main North Carolina locations featured in the iconic movie.
Crimes of the Heart
Crimes of the Heart is a black comedy-drama from the 80s, starring Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, and Sissy Spacek. The screenplay for the film was adapted from the same-name play, which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
The movie focuses on three sisters, who are reunited at their family home after one of them shot her abusive husband. Throughout the movie, the three women must deal with various relatives and past relationships, all the while coping with the latest incident that has disrupted all their lives.
Crimes of the Heart is set in Mississippi, but the movie was shot entirely in North Carolina. It was filmed mostly in Southport – the house where the sisters gather is at 229 North Caswell Avenue, the cemetery where Babe confesses to Meg about her relationship is the Old Smithville Burying Ground at North Rhett Street, and the hospital featured in the movie is Dosher Memorial Hospital at 924 North Howe Street.
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is probably the most famous movie that was (partly) filmed in North Carolina. It follows “Baby”, a young woman played by Jennifer Grey, who falls in love with her dance instructor who is played by Patrick Swayze. Baby’s family travel to the Catskill Resort in the summer of 1963 – the resort is fictional, and the scenes were shot in Grove Park Inn, Lake Lure (western North Carolina), and Virginia.
But you already know that, unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past few decades. Or maybe you’re too young to know that this masterpiece even exists? In that case, you should make watching this fabulous movie your top priority!
Dirty Dancing is just iconic in so many ways – the famous scene where Swayze lifts Grey up, I’ve had the time of my life, and nobody puts Baby in a corner? That might sound like mumbo-jumbo to someone who hasn’t seen the movie, but anyone who has knows exactly what I’m talking about!
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games is a science fiction trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has been adapted into a very popular movie series. The trilogy pretty much launched Jennifer Lawrence’s Hollywood career – although she did have a few bigger roles before Hunger Games, she only became a household name once she got the role of Katniss Everdeen.
The first Hunger Games movie was shot entirely in North Carolina. The state’s abandoned towns were depicted as District 12, the DuPont State Forest and Pisgah National Forest were used for most scenes that were shot in the woods, and the famous Charlotte Convention Center was used for the scene where the tributes makes their first grand entrance.
About the Author Roger Timbrook
Roger is a little obsessed with travel. He has been to over 40 countries, broken 3 suitcases and owned over 10 backpacks in 12 months. What he doesn't know about travel, ain't worth knowing!
