Tom Hardy's Thriller 'Havoc' Sets Its Gritty US Tale Against the Backdrop of Wales

Tom Hardy’s 'Havoc': American Crime Drama, Welsh Streets

It might come as a surprise, but the rain-soaked, neon-lit streets you’ll see in Tom Hardy’s new Netflix thriller Havoc aren’t anywhere in the United States. Instead, the whole gritty backdrop is actually the face of Wales. Set in a fictional American city, the film uses every trick in the book to make Welsh locations feel like the other side of the Atlantic. Director Gareth Evans, known for his knack for action and atmosphere, manages to pull this off—even for the sharp-eyed viewers who know their US cityscapes well.

So, why film a blood-soaked American story in the UK countryside? Savings and logistics play a big role. Productions often shoot in places like Wales because it offers creative freedom, financial incentives, and enough varied urban landscapes to mimic US settings. It’s a win for budgets, and it lets filmmakers like Evans focus on delivering the bone-crunching action scenes he’s famous for. Cinematographer Matt Flannery wrings every drop of drama from Wales’ shadowy alleys and concrete sprawl, stretching a 107-minute runtime across a city that’s both American and not quite.

Police, Crime, and a Reimagined City

In Havoc, Hardy’s detective, Walker, finds himself digging through a tangled web of corruption after a drug bust goes sideways. He teams up with characters played by Jessie Mei Li and Forest Whitaker, navigating a criminal underworld that feels as American as any big-screen thriller—but actually unfolds far from New York or Chicago. Evans was more interested in giving the movie a universal sense of dangerous urban sprawl than tying it to any recognizable US city. Wales, with its mix of industrial decay and moody ambiance, delivers that vibe perfectly.

The rest of the cast is equally international, which only adds to the film’s blend of American grit and British scenery. Local crews helped transform everything from abandoned warehouses to city streets into believable parts of the US. Clever set designers swapped out street signs and reimagined interiors to erase the Welsh identity for viewers. If you look closely, there are hints—the shape of a phone booth, a style of brickwork—but the illusion holds, especially as the action ramps up.

Netflix’s investment in international productions like this means we’ll probably see more movies where the location skips across continents. For Havoc, filming in Wales gave the cast and crew plenty of space and privacy to stage daring stunts and intense set pieces. It also helps that Evans himself is based in Wales, bringing a homegrown sensibility to a movie meant to play out thousands of miles away. The end result? A city that doesn’t exist, a story that could happen anywhere, and a film where place is as much a character as any member of the cast.