Mark Strong

Temple Series 2 (2021)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Mark Strong as Daniel Milton stands at the top of an escalator coming from underground. He is bald, and wears a blue suit, with white shirt and a black tie. Behind him are some historic London buildings and skyscrapers, as well as several people in red prison jumpsuits being arrested by police officers in high-visibility vests. One man stands atop an orange car holding a purple smoke bomb in the air and screaming. Hanging from one building is a hand-written white sign reading ‘Save Our Planet’. Two women are looking off into the distance on either side of the frame; on the left side is a woman with ginger hair cut into a bob who wears a white shirt, black trousers, and a long black and white checked coat, on the right side is woman with brown hair pulled into a low bun, who wears a long buttoned-up black trench coat.

Temple Series 2 (2021) © Sky UK Ltd

Writer:  Mark O’Rowe
Director: Christopher Smith
Starring: Mark Strong, Daniel Mays, Carice Van Houten, Rhys Ifans
Production Company: Hera Pictures
Kent Locations Used: Nells Café in Gravesend

Temple (2021) is a British television show based on a Norwegian series about a surgeon who sets up an illegal medical research facility underneath Temple Tube Station to find a cure for his dying wife.

The series was created by Mark O’Rowe (Boy A, Intermission) and Series 2 is directed by Christopher Smith (Alex Rider, Curfew) with actor Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Shazam!) playing the lead Daniel Milton. Series 1 also co-starred BAFTA nominated actor Daniel Mays (Line of Duty, Des), Emmy nominated Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones, Black Book), Catherine McCormack (Braveheart, 28 Weeks Later) and Tobi King Bakare (Cursed, I May Destroy You) who are all set to reprise their roles for Series 2.

Amongst the new arrivals are dubious and deeply unpredictable underworld fixer Gubby, played by BAFTA-winner Rhys Ifans (Alice Through the Looking Glass, Berlin Station) and his poetic but frequently inebriated medical assistant, Dermot, played by Michael Smiley (Bloodlands, Luther).

A night-time sequence from Series 2 Episode 6 was filmed at the popular Nell’s Café in Gravesend. Production also filmed some driving sequences on various roads around Luddesdown in Gravesham, but we think these didn’t make the final cut.

Nell’s Café is situated along the A2 in Gravesend and previously hosted Killing Eve (2018) and In the Long Run-Series 2 (2019)

Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent on the south bank of the Thames with a promenade, high street and two shopping centres. The Town’s Pier is the oldest remaining cast-iron pier in the world. Previous productions to film at Gravesend includes Black Mirror Series 5: Smithereens (2019) and Top Boy Series 3 (2019).

Series 2 of Temple aired on Sky Max and NOW TV on Thursday 28th October 2021 at 9pm and the entire series became available as a box set on release.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Sherlock Holmes Poster- Sherlock holmes staring at the camera with his hands in his pockets, smokey london skyline can be seen behind. HOLMES reads across the middle

Sherlock Holmes Poster

The Victorian Sleuth returns to our screens in an all action film

Director: Guy Richie

Writer: Simon Kinberg, Anthony Peckham

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan and Kelly Reilly

Production Company: Silver Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, Wigram Productions

Kent Filming Locations: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Boxing day 2009 saw the release of the new Sherlock Holmes movie directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie. Fans expecting a classic ‘Sherlock’ adaptation complete with smoking pipe and deerstalker hat will be disappointed. This interpretation of Holmes is fast paced and action filled, taking its cue from modern graphic novels.

Based on an unpublished comic book by Lionel Wigram, the film features

Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary characters Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) and Dr Watson (Jude Law). Set in 1891, the film sees Holmes and Watson trying to stop Lord Blackwood’s (Mark Strong) conspiracy to destroy Britain. To thwart this deadly plot, Sherlock’s brilliance and intellect are called upon alongside some newly acquired skills:bare knuckle and sword fighting.

Directed by Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) written by Simon Kinberg (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jumper) and Anthony Peckham (Don’t Say A Word, Invictus) and starring Robert Downey Jr (Zodiac, Iron Man) and Jude Law (Cold Mountain, Alfie). Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls, The Notebook), Mark Strong (Body of Lies, The Young Victoria), Eddie Marsan (V for Vendetta, Happy-Go-Lucky) and Kelly Reilly (Pride & Prejudice, Me and Orson Welles.

Ritchie and the all star cast came to The Historic Dockyard Chatham to film parts of the movie. The Historic Dockyard Chatham proved to be an ideal location with its cobbled streets, industrial buildings and authentic Victorian architecture. If you watch carefully you will notice the following locations.

  • Punchbowl Pub interior: fight scene
  • Punch Bowl pub exterior: various characters entering the pub
  • Main Gate (the seal): entering the prison to see Blackwood
  • Hemp House 3: Hanging of Lord Blackwood
  • Ropery courtyard: Prison exterior scene with Holmes and Watson locked up in the prison yard
  • Chain and Cable shed: chase scene with hansom cabs before the slip 7 scene where the ship enters the Thames
  • Slip 7: The fight with Dredger around the ship in slip 7
 

Behind the scenes image of the shipyard at Ship 7 at The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Behind the scenes image of the shipyard at Ship 7 at The Historic Dockyard Chatham © The Historic Dockyard Chatham

  

Behind the scenes image of the exterior of the Punch Bowl Pub at The Historic Dockyard Chatham at the bottom of a cobbled street

Behind the scenes image of the exterior of the Punch Bowl Pub at The Historic Dockyard Chatham © The Historic Dockyard Chatham

The Historic Dockyard Chatham remains a top Kent filming location due to its unblemished historical surroundings, authentic backdrops, cobbled streets and Georgian and Victorian architecture. It has previously been used in productions such as BBC’s Oliver Twist (2007), The Golden Compass (2007) and Vanity Fair (2005).

Sherlock Holmes was released in cinemas on December 2009 and is now available to buy on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Henry VIII (2003)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
close up of Ray Winstone wearing a gold crown looking away from the camera

Henry VIII © ITV

Director: Pete Travis

Writer: Peter Morgan

Starring: Ray Winstone, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, David Suchet, Danny Webb, Helena Bonham Carter, Emilia Fox, Sean Bean, Emily Blunt

Production Company: Granada Television, Power, Powercorp, WGBH

Kent locations: Leeds Castle

Henry VIII is an Emmy Award winning two-part TV movie, which follows the life of Henry VIII throughout his radical 38 year reign and unpicks the volatility of Henry’s nature, particularly when it comes to love, as he marries and discards a string of wives with quick succession.

Henry VIII was written by British film writer and playwright Peter Morgan and directed by Pete Travis (Dredd, Vantage Point).

The cast includes an array of renowned British actors, such as Ray Winstone (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Great Expectations), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, Alien 3), Mark Strong (Kick Ass, Sherlock Holmes), David Suchet (Poirot, Great Expectations) Danny Webb (Alien 3, Valkyrie), Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd, The King’s Speech), Emilia Fox (The Pianist, Merlin), Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones) and Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria, The Devil Wears Prada).

Long shot of Leeds Castle and lake

Leeds Castle in Henry VIII © ITV

Historically, Leeds Castle was used as a palace by Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon but the production chose Leeds Castle to represent exteriors of Henry’s castle in Richmond.

Leeds Castle is near Maidstone and is set within 500 acres of parkland and gardens and surrounded by a moat. Features include original marble bathrooms, a river and maze with shell grotto. The location has previously featured in productions such as Gadget Man (2014), Lady Jane (1987) and Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949).

Henry VIII also features in the Kent Film Office Tudor(ish) Trail which celebrates Kent’s Tudor history and film connections.

Henry VIII was first shown on ITV in 2003 and is now available to buy on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.