Where was Purple Hearts filmed? Real life locations and filming dates

Wondering where Purple Hearts was filmed and how those military scenes were shot? Here's all the filming locations of the smash hit romantic film revealed.

Netflix’s hit romance film has captured the imagination of fans in an endearing adaptation that's based on the original Purple Hearts story (opens in new tab). Starring Sofia Carson and Nicholas Galitzine, the film is riding high at the number 1 spot of Netflix’s popularity chart. Beginning as a marriage of convenience between the very different Cassie and Luke, the story tackles the politics and policy forcing young people to make decisions they shouldn’t need to. The overriding message of the story is that opposing views shouldn’t divide love, and looking to what unites rather than divides us, can overcome adversity. Fans of the film have been asking where filming took place - here, we uncover the key filming locations.

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Where was Purple Hearts filmed? 

Purple Hearts was filmed in California and Texas. Specifically - Riverside, Austin, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County were used. 

In San Diego County, California, the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (opens in new tab) took central stage in the film. Situated at 20250 Vandegrift Boulevard in Oceanside, this served as the Marine base where Luke was stationed prior to his deployment. The real Camp Pendleton is over 125,000 acres in size, and the Marine Corps’ largest training facility along the West Coast. 

Camp Pendleton contains a mix of coastal and mountainous terrain. This makes it ideal not only for military training exercises, but also for hiking, bird-watching, and surfing. It’s said to be one of the most popular bases to be stationed. Soldiers seen in the background of some shots were real Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time. Luke actor Nicholas Galitzine shared a video clip to Instagram, of Luke leaving the camp for deployment - these scenes would have been shot at Camp Pendleton. 

According to The Cinemaholic, it was in Los Angeles County, California, the scene where Cassie performs her concert was filmed. The world famous Hollywood Bowl amphitheatre in Oceanside, was the precise location of the filming. This is located at 2301 North Highland Avenue in the Hollywood Hills. 

Cassie actress Sofia Carson invited fans to be in the audience during filming of the concert. Posting to Twitter, she announced a performance on October 4, 2021 at the iconic Hollywood Bowl. She was delighted that audiences could be featured in the film, saying “I couldn’t be happier”.

Fans who managed to make the audience for the performance, shared video footage to social media. One Twitter user posted a slow motion video they had taken of Carson.

Film crews were also spotted in Joe’s Great American Bar & Grill at West Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank. The establishment is clearly no stranger to acting as a filming location, as it has a specific area of its website (opens in new tab) dedicated to filming inquiries. Locals flock to the venue for live music and dancing. Oceanside Harbor also made an appearance - the area is famous for watersports, fishing, wildlife viewing, and a huge sandy beach.

California’s Riverside also featured in the film, as well as Austin, Texas. Austin, the capital of Texas. Famed for its live music scene, Austin is also no stranger to filmmakers, previously playing location host to shows and films including Sin City and Friday Night Lights. The cast certainly appeared to have fun during filming, as pictures Galitzine shared to Instagram show.

Where is Purple Hearts set? 

Purple Hearts is set in Oceanside, California. In the book, this is where Cassie is born. She is still living and working in Oceanside when she meets Luke. 

Working multiple jobs to support her potential music career, Cassie has never left Oceanside. She looks to her music career to get her out of the place she feels trapped, and to see more of the world. Staying true to the source material of the book and adding authenticity, the Marines Corps Base Camp Pendleton, and Hollywood Bowl locations, are both really situated in Oceanside.

Preparing for the role of Cassie, Carson told People Magazine (opens in new tab) that she spent hours researching for the part. She said “she conducted “a lot of research into every aspect that could have shaped” Cassie. She followed this up with “Everything from the immigrant experience coming into this country, being an immigrant in San Diego, in Southern California, type 1 diabetes, military, the military culture, her worldview, her political views, her stance on marriage.”

When was Purple Hearts filmed? 

Filming for Purple Hearts began in August 2021, and wrapped on October 14, 2021. Cassie actress Sofia Carson shared a video to Instagram, marking the completion of filming. 

In the post, she spoke of “my dearest Cassie”, and waxed lyrical about how much the film meant to her. Being 4 years in the making, Carson praised director Elizabeth Rosenbaum on her “relentless pursuit of pure, raw, honesty and it was terrifying, and deeply vulnerable, but most of all, so incredibly beautiful”. 

Who does the singing in Purple Hearts? 

The entire soundtrack is performed by Sofia Carson, the actress and singer who plays Cassie in the film. Carson also co-wrote 4 original compositions with singer/songwriter Justin Tranter.

Tranter is a Grammy Award-nominated artist who was brought on board to assist in writing and producing original songs for the film. The original songs are entitled “Come Back Home,” “Blue Side of the Sky,” “I Hate the Way” and “I Didn’t Know”. Along with Tranter, Eren Cannata, Daniel Crean, and Skyler Stonestreet assisted in the formation of the songs, writing them in just 1 week.

Carson even learned to play the piano for the scenes of Cassie’s concert, held at Hollywood Bowl. On July 12, 2022, the soundtrack "Come Back Home" was released by Hollywood records, as promotional material for the film’s impending release date. Covers of other much loved hits including Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline were also featured in the film.

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