Downey has been a favorite setting for many silver screen endeavors throughout the years. 

At one point, the city had a production studio, the Downey Studios, which was home to many blockbusters.  Downey Studios was situated on the site of a former NASA/Boeing site in Los Angeles County. The site was chosen in 1929 by E.M. Smith so he could build his new aircraft, The Challenger. Through the years, the site has been home to numerous ground-breaking and record shattering innovations, including the Navaho Missile project, the Apollo Spacecraft Development program, and the Space Shuttle.  In 2012, the Downey Studios was demolished to house the Promenade at Downey, a retail power center.  

TV and Film Credits

Over 135 TV and movies have been filmed in Downey, CA.  Below are the top 25 : 

1. Heat (1995)
2. Spider Man (2002)
3. The Prestige (2006)
4. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
5. The Game (1997)
6. Zodiac (2007)
7. Van Helsing (2004)
8. A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
9. Iron Man 2 (2010)
10. The Wonder Years (1988-1993)
11. Daredevil (2003)
12. G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
13. Cloverfield (2008)
14. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
15. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
16. The Founder (2016)
17. Pineapple Express (2008)
18. The Island (2005)
19. Big Love (2006-2011)
20. Can't Hardly Wait (1998)
21. Reality Bites (1994)
22. One Hour Photo (2002)
23. Smokin' Aces (2006)
24. Jawbreaker (1999)
25. What's Love Got To Do With It (1993)

Filming Location Matching "Downey, California, USA," accessed 23 August 2022,

<https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?locations=Downey,%20California,%20USA>

Lonnie Chavis, Jr. (born November 23, 2007) is an American actor and activist. He is known for playing young Randall Pearson on NBC's drama, This Is Us.

Kyle Davis (born July 9, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy drama Men of a Certain Age and American Horror Story.

Dennis W. Day was an American actor, singer, dancer, and theater director, best known as one of the original cast members of The Mickey Mouse Club.

Robert Illes is an American award-winning[1] screenwriter, television producer, playwright and author.

Thomas Lee Kirk (December 10, 1941 – September 28, 2021)[1] was an American actor, best known for his performances in films made by Walt Disney Studios such as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, as well as the beach-party films of the mid-1960s.

David Scott Lago (/ˈlɑːɡoʊ/; born January 18, 1979, in Downey, California) is a Cuban-American actor. He is best known for playing Raul Guittierez on The Young and the Restless from 1999 to 2004.[1] He has also had a recurring role as Jeremy on 7th Heaven.[2]

Megan Suri is an American actress, known for her role in The MisEducation of Bindu (2019), as well as for playing Aneesa in the Netflix teen comedy series Never Have I Ever (2020).

Aimee Teegarden is an American actress, model, and producer. She starred as Julie Taylor in the NBC drama Friday Night Lights (2006–2011).

Alanna Ubach is an American actress, known for her roles as Serena McGuire in Legally Blonde (2001) & Legally Blonde 2 (2003)

Priscilla Ann Quintana is an American actress, known for her role in Good Trouble as Isabella Tavez.

Ashley Edner is an actor, known for Star Trek Beyond (2016), Britney Spears Live from Las Vegas (2001) and Listen Up (2004).

Dayna Price was an actress, known for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Water for Elephants (2011) and The Lone Ranger (2013).

Ashley Campuzano is an actress known for being apart of the recently Emmy nominated series "East Los High"; an exclusive HULU original series with a full Latino cast, that embraces the every day struggles of teenagers in East Los Angeles where she has continued to play the role of "Tiffany Ramos."

James Hetfield, the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the American heavy metal band Metallica.

Dave Alvin, singer, songwriter, musician The Blasters, and The Knitters.

Lupita Infante, singer-songwriter and scored a Grammy nomination in the Best Regional Mexican Music Album category.

Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians.

• Evan Longoria is an All-Star MLB third baseman who was named American League Rookie of the Year with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. He was named to his first All-Star team in 2008 and helped lead Tampa Bay to the World Series in 2008. After the 2017 season, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants. 

  Kevin Gross is a major league baseball pitcher playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Anaheim Angels

  Stanley Franks, professional football player with the BC Lions.

  Ryan Hollweg, professional hockey player with the New York Rangers.

  George Horton, baseball head coach at University of Oregon, two-time NCAA champion.

  John Lee, professional football player.

  Joe Rudi, Major League Baseball player^[4]

  Ken Shelley, won US national pairs skating title in 1970, 1971, and 1972.

  Jo Jo Starbuck, won US national pairs skating title in 1970, 1971, and 1972.

  Daniel Jeffery Henderson is an American retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler, who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

  Byron Paul Velvick is an American professional angler, television personality, and sportscaster.

Blanca Pacheco is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the California State Assembly for the 64th district. She assumed office on December 5, 2022.

Kevin D. Jeffries (born November 24, 1964)[3] is an American politician from the State of California. He is a Riverside County Supervisor and a former member of the California State Assembly representing the California's 66th Assembly district. Jeffries is a member of the Republican Party.[4][5]

Andrew Robert Young is an American diplomat who has served as United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso from 2016 to 2020.

Dave Lopez, is a retired CBS 2/KCAL 9 reporter after a 48 year career

Joslyn Davis, YouTuber on Clevver media.

Amelia Rose Earhart  is an American private pilot and former reporter for NBC affiliate[3] KUSA-TV in Denver, Colorado. In 2013 Earhart started the Fly With Amelia Foundation, which grants flight scholarships to girls aged 16–18.[4]

Peter R. Girguis  is a professor in the department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, where he leads a lab that studies animals and microbes that live in extreme environments.

Riki R. Nelson is a contemporary American oil painter known for her realistic and surreal portraits of jazz musicians, bar patrons, city street scenes.