When Was Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz's Film 'Back in Action' Filmed?
"Just when we were getting nearly done, we were put in the time-out circle."
Published Jan. 17 2025, 9:25 a.m. ET
On Jan. 17, 2025, Netflix dropped the stream for the long-anticipated action film, Back in Action. Starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx, and directed by Seth Gordon, the film has taken extra time to reach viewers after Jamie Foxx fell unexpectedly ill during filming.
The movie was filmed in two very different locations, offering a dynamic and visually-intriguing backdrop. Here's what we know about when and where the movie was filmed, and why it took a little longer to get to audiences than producers originally intended.
Here's when Netflix film 'Back in Action' was filmed.
Production kicked off filming back in December 2022. Unfortunately, Jamie Foxx fell ill in the midst of heavy recording and ended up in the hospital. According to his Netflix special What Happened Was... Jamie experienced a brain bleed and stroke. He nearly died, and needed months in the hospital to recover.
Then, when Jamie recovered, Hollywood was under a writer's strike. Luckily, they were able to get back in action, as it were, in early 2024 and finish filming. So it took a little longer to get the film wrapped and ready to present to viewers.
Where was 'Back in Action' filmed?
Back in Action is one of those films that hopped the pond to come together. The first filming location for the movie was in London. Prior to bringing in the cast, filming crews spent months setting up shop all across the capital city. In one scene, the famed River Thames served as the backdrop. Other famous landmarks that made the film include Big Ben, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and the Palace of Westminster.
After filming wrapped in London, the cast and crew headed to Atlanta, Georgia, to finish the movie's backdrops. Among famous spots the crew was seen filming in are popular nightclub Tongue & Groove at 565 Main Street Northeast. The crew also made use of several Atlanta-area studios for filming, including Shadowbox Studios, Tyler Perry Studios, Cinespace Studios Atlanta, Trilith Studios, and Atlanta Metro Studios.
Jamie Foxx's illness threw a major monkey wrench in the works, and the film's producers had to adapt.
In an interview with Decider, director and Back In Action co-writer Seth Gordon discussed what it was like to try to film around Jamie's illness. “Just when we were getting nearly done, we were put in the time-out circle,” he joked. The production team hired a body double to keep moving filming forward, but it was a tricky dance.
Seth shared, "We had all this stuff prepped, and we ended up trying to shoot whatever we could, without him being there. I ended up coming with a whole new way to do that, which was the club scene. So I did that club scene, and the short fight in there, and replaced the thing, where a double was used.”
Luckily, 2025 was the year for Back in Action. With 112 minutes of run time and, oh, did we mention that Glenn Close is in the film too? Given the hype and enthusiasm with which Cameron and Jamie have promoted the film, it's on our list of 2025 "must-watch" movies.