Film Location: Troy (2004)

Achilles on Comino

In 2003, Wolfgang Petersen's film crew landed on Comino with a $175 million budget. They were shooting "Troy" — an epic adaptation of the Iliad starring Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, and Eric Bana. Blue Lagoon and surrounding beaches were to play the shores of ancient Troy.

The plan was 5 days of filming on Comino. The result? 5 weeks. Malta turned out to be "an incredible find" — the light, water, and landscape perfectly matched the vision of ancient Greece. Pitt waded through Blue Lagoon waters as Achilles, while hundreds of extras from Malta and Gozo played Greek and Trojan warriors.

Impact on Malta

"Troy" earned $500 million worldwide and put Malta on the Hollywood filmmaking map. After the film's success, more productions began flowing to the islands — including Game of Thrones, which was filmed on Gozo.