With its rolling vineyards, rural farm fields, bay vistas and historic buildings, the NoFo can make a pretty backdrop for a TV show or movie.
That’s why location scouts have chosen our backyard to film scenes for the big and small screens many times over the years.
Here are 10 movies and television shows that have filmed on the North Fork.
“The Romantics”
Stars like Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin and Josh Duhamel descended on the North Fork when scenes for “The Romantics” were filmed here in 2009.
About 100 or so residents took part in the shoot, which included scenes filmed at The Old Field Vineyards and Southold Yacht Club.
Riverhead’s own Warren McKnight (you’ve probably seen him strumming his banjo at a downtown event or two) played the preacher who married Paquin and Duhamel during a wedding scene.
“Orange is the New Black”
Downtown Riverhead was transformed into a setting for “Orange is the New Black” last year when Academy Award winner Jodie Foster directed a part of the Netflix series in front of the Suffolk Theater.
Although none of the hit show’s stars were on set to film the flashback scene, Foster — who is best known for her roles in “Taxi Driver” and “The Silence of the Lambs” – was hands-on with the actors and production staff during filming.
“The World According to Garp”
Of this May 1981 photo he took of Robin Williams for The Suffolk Times, photographer Jim Lennon said: “We only had a few minutes between takes with Robin. Jeff strolled with him and chatted a bit. When I asked if it was OK to take his photo, he said, ‘How’s this?’ as he turned his head, hands in pocket, striking a pose while looking off to Fishers Island Sound. In a moment the crew was calling for him on set and off he went. It was a very brief but memorable moment with Robin Williams that I have always treasured.”
“Girls”
Mistaking the vibe of Greenport Village for a poolside resort, the always-awkward Hanna Horvath could be seen walking around town in a bikini in a 2014 episode of HBO’s “Girls” filmed on the North Fork.
The episode centered around the four main characters trying to repair their strained relationships during a weekend stay on the East End.
The “Girls” crew and part-time local resident Jesse Peretz spent two weeks filming at a waterfront home in East Marion, dockside at Claudio’s restaurant and at The Market on Front Street in Greenport Village.
“Lena came out [to East Marion] last summer to visit our director and really liked the North Fork, so she thought, ‘Let’s shoot an episode here,’ ” Girls executive Producer Ilene Landress told us at the time. “We’re really thrilled to be out here. It’s gorgeous.”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
The Coen Brother’s latest flick, “Inside Llewyn Davis,” filmed several scenes at two Riverhead locations in 2012.
Film crews turned an old potato barn into a gas station where the title character, played by Oscar Isaac, can be seen loitering outside.
“When I Live My Life Over Again”
His characters have held a watch up their ass for two years, called for more cowbell, played Russian roulette in Vietnam and blown red lights en route to driving Woody Allen to the airport. Now, iconic actor Christopher Walken can add something else to his résumé: filming in Riverhead.
The Academy Award winner was on the set of ”When I Live My Life Over Again” in 2014, when the film was shot at Temple Israel on Northville Turnpike.
The movie is expected to be released in April 2015.
“Boardwalk Empire”
As the shocking season two finale of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire’ drew to a close” (Goodbye, Jimmy Darmody), the camera panned to a wide shot of what was supposed to be Prohibition-era Atlantic City.
But what viewers were really seeing was modern-day Riverhead Town.
Steve Buscemi, who played the show’s lead character Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, and Anthony Laciura, better known as Nucky’s trusted butler Eddie, were both on set when the series filmed on a Sound Avenue farm field in 2011, an HBO spokesperson told us at the time.
“The Sopranos”
Scenes for the popular HBO series were filmed at Riverhead Raceway when Tony Soprano considered buying a racetrack. Legend has it that locals were up in arms after producers displayed a prop sign that read “Sold. Last Race Saturday.”
“The Devil’s Own”
The Devil’s Own was filmed around Greenport Yacht and Shipbuilding Company, but the entire village was buzzing with activity when the cast and crew were around in 1996. They could be seen breaking for lunch at Harbourfront Deli in Greenport, according to a 2009 story published in The Suffolk Times.
“Margot at the Wedding”
Former Suffolk Times photographer Judy Ahrens snapped this photo of Nicole Kidman outside the East End Seaport Museum when she filmed scenes for “Margot at the Wedding” in Greenport in 2007.
