Most of Alexander Payne’s 2011 film, The Descendants, was shot around the island of Oahu, Hawaii, although some filming did take place on Kauai and the Big Island.

Matt King, played by George Clooney, lives at this house, tucked away in the Nu’uanu neighborhood of Honolulu.  The house is not fully visible from the street.  You’ll need to walk down a little, unmarked road (connected with Gartley Place) that leads to a few houses, in order to get a clear view.  The Descendants house is the first on the left and the one closest to Old Pali Road.  Just across the street of Old Pali Road is the Clarence H. Cooke Residence, seen in the film “Triple Frontier.”

LOCATION: 3849 Old Pali Road, Honolulu, HI, 96817

Located just down the street from the above house is the corner where George Clooney frantically runs in his sandals over to his friends’ house, The Mitchells, after hearing of some distressing news.

LOCATION: The fork in the road of Old Pali Road / Nu’uanu Pali Dr., Honolulu, HI, 96817

The Mitchell’s house.  The view, again, is slightly obstructed from the road, due to the many trees and plants on the property.

LOCATION: 155 Dowsett Ave., Honolulu, HI 96817

The goat seen in the film, Poppy, is a real goat that actually lives at the location.  It is still alive and well today.

Brian Speer’s house.

LOCATION: 4328 Papu Circle, Honolulu, HI, 96816

Late in the film, Matt and Alex go to Brian Speer’s vacation home to confront him.  This was filmed on the island of Kauai.  It really is a vacation property and can be seen from Waioli Beach Park, albeit by looking between the shrubs.  It’s worth mentioning that Waioli Beach Park is an excellent beach and well worth going out of your way to visit.

LOCATION: 5032 Weke Rd, Hanalei, HI 96714

The islands of O’ahu and Kaua’i are beautiful, with many amazing sights to see.  Most of these film locations are tucked away from the more touristy areas.  One upside, due to the islands being so small, is that all of these locations are pretty close to one another and can be visited in a short span of time, as not to distract you too much from the other amazing sights the islands have to offer.

Related articles: Citizen Ruth (1996), Election (1999), About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004), Nebraska (2013), Downsizing (2017)