From Star Wars to Sex and the City: The real-life places around the world used as locations for hit movies and TV shows (and some will surprise you)

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Montreal, Toronto and North Carolina - they're unsung heroes of the big screen. 

They are used as locations for hit movies and TV shows - they've appeared in Suits, Brooklyn and The Hunger Games - but rarely receive any plaudits. 

And there are more - deserts that appear in Star Wars and Sex and the City and gardens that pop up in Game of Thrones. But audiences are often non the wiser about their identity. Here MailOnline Travel gives the real-life locations in some of your favourite films and shows the recognition they deserve.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - The United Arab Emirates 

The United Arab Emirates' vast deserts are a great spot to film movies that take place on alien planets

Scenes from Star Wars: The Force Awakens that take place on the planet of Jakku were filmed in the vast deserts and extreme heat of the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates' vast deserts are a great spot to film movies that take place on alien worlds.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is one example of a movie that used the UAE to represent a planet that's far, far away.

The scenes that take place on the planet of Jakku were filmed in the country's sandy expanses.

 Dawson's Creek - Wilmington, North Carolina 

Surprisingly, North Carolina is the third most popular state in America to film television and movies

Dawson's Creek, which is meant to take place in a small New England town, is one example of a television show filmed in the beach town of Wilmington, North Carolina

Surprisingly, North Carolina is the third most popular state in America to film television and movies. 

The reasons, partly, are the temperate climate and the vast range of scenery, with North Carolina being one of the only states that has mountains, plains and beaches.

The producers of TV's Dawson's Creek just couldn't resist it. 

Instead of filming in New England where the show is set - the characters live in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, a state in that region - they set up their cameras in the beach town of Wilmington, North Carolina.

 Hunger Games - Black Mountain, North Carolina 

Many parts of popular movie trilogy The Hunger Games were filmed in North Carolina 

Jennifer Lawrence portrays Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games - filmed in the small town of Black Mountain

Many parts of popular trilogy The Hunger Games were also filmed in North Carolina. 

Needing mountain scenery, the directors picked the small town of Black Mountain to film in.

The city is one of the most scenic points on the state's Appalachian mountains.

Other communities that appeared in the film included Asheville, Barnardsville, Cedar Mountain, Charlotte, Concord, Hildebran and Shelby.

Game of  Thrones - Alcazar Palace gardens, Seville, Spain

A number of scenes in the popular HBO television show Game of Thrones were shot in the Alcazar Palace gardens in the city centre of Seville, in Andalusia

The palace, with its grand buildings and lush palms, made for an exotic locale. It was used to represent the Water Gardens of Dorne

Seville, the largest town in Andalucia, Spain, is full of old buildings and beautiful, Moorish architecture. 

For this reason, many movies and television shows are shot there. 

A number of scenes for HBO's Game of Thrones were shot in the Alcazar Palace gardens in the city centre.

The gardens represent the Water Gardens of Dorne, the private estate of the House of Martell.

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones -  Plaza de Espana, Seville, Spain

Seville popped up again in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, in the guise of pastoral world Naboo 

A scene for the movie, featuring Anakin (Hayden Christensen), Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) and R2D2, was shot in Seville's picturesque Plaza de Espana

Seville popped up again in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, in the guise of pastoral world Naboo. 

A scene for the movie, featuring Anakin (Hayden Christensen), Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) and R2D2, was shot in the city's picturesque Plaza de Espana.

 The characters were shot moving alongside the Plaza's grand pillars.  

Brooklyn - Montreal, Canada 

Canada's Montreal also often catches the eye of location scouts 

One notable recent appearance for Montreal was in the movie Brooklyn, which tells the tale of a young Irish girl and her romance with a local (pictured)

Canada's Montreal also often catches the eye of location scouts. 

One notable recent appearance for the city was in the 2015 movie Brooklyn, which tells the tale of a young Irish girl and her romance with a local.

Montreal's streets were used to capture the 1950s feel of that New York borough, though the actual borough was used for some shots. 

Production designer Francois Seguin told Architectural Digest: 'I shot 1500 Rome in Budapest, so 1951 Brooklyn in Montreal is not such a big leap.'

Suits - Toronto, Canada 

Toronto, the biggest city in Canada, is perhaps the most commonly used city for New York scenes, apart from the city itself, that is 

The producers of television series Suits picked Toronto as their New York stand-in

Toronto, the biggest city in Canada, is perhaps the most commonly used city for New York scenes, apart from the city itself, that is.

With a large metropolitan centre, the streets of Toronto appear very similar to those of downtown Manhattan, making it an obvious filming alternative.

The producers of television series Suits were clearly wise to this and picked Toronto as their New York stand-in when they realised that it would be cheaper to film in Canada.

Sex and the City 2 - Morocco  

Morocco, the Moorish country right at the northwestern tip of Africa, is a beautiful and popular tourist destination - and a popular filming location for movies set in the Middle East 

The movie Sex and the City 2, which takes place in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, was actually filmed around Morocco 

Morocco, the Moorish country right at the northwestern tip of Africa, is a beautiful and popular tourist destination - and a popular filming location for movies set in the Middle East. 

The movie Sex and the City 2, which takes place in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, was actually filmed around Morocco.

The original plan was to film in Abu Dhabi, but the authorities there refused to grant permission, so the similarly sandy Morocco was used instead. 

Cast Away - Monuriki, Mamanuca Islands, Fiji  

Fiji (pictured) is remote and so doesn't get used that often for movies. But it did manage a star turn as an uninhabited South Pacific island in Tom Hanks' Cast Away 

In the 2000 movie Hanks plays a plane crash survivor - and his performance was so convincing he was nominated for an Oscar 

Fiji is remote and so doesn't get used that often for movies.

But it did manage a star turn as an uninhabited South Pacific island in Tom Hanks' Cast Away, which was filmed on the beautiful beaches of Fiji's Monuriki island.

In the 2000 movie Hanks plays a plane crash survivor - and his performance was so convincing he was nominated for an Oscar.