The Portable Door director Jeffrey Walker reveals why the fantasy movie based in London was filmed in Queensland with a mostly Aussie cast

With A-list actors such as Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill and James Bonds Christoph Waltz, The Portable Door is one of the biggest fantasy films at the moment.

Jeffrey Walker, who directed the family friendly flick, said it was ‘complex journey’ of how it became an Australian-made film but he said that essentially many of the core crew happened to be Aussies, so it made sense to film it here.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at The Portable Door premier in Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter on Thursday, the Brisbane native said it was a dream come true to direct such a major movie in his home state, Queensland.

‘We looked at filming in other territories where we can get tax breaks for an independent film, because it’s not a big studio movie,’ he explained.

‘So it took a lot to get to Australia but it’s one of the greatest joys of my life to be able to film this just 40 minutes from my home and utilise the talents of locals, it was just an amazing thing to be able to make it here.’

Director of The Portable Door Jeffrey Walker (pictured) said it was ‘complex journey’ of how  the movie based in England was made in Australia

The film features Lord Of The Rings Miranda Otto (left) and Jurassic Park legend Sam Neill (right)

The film features Australian actor’s such as Lord Of The Rings Miranda Otto, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Damon Herriman and You Don’t Know Me’s Sophie Wilde.

Irish actor Patrick Gibson, who plays the main character of Paul Carpenter in the movie, said he loved the sunny Queensland weather while filming.

However, he said the majority of his time was spent in a ‘pitch black set’ that aimed to emulate a more gloomy London. 

Director Jeffrey, who was a child actor in Ocean Girl and directed episodes of Neighbours and Home and Away, said it’s an honour for his new movie to be compared to Harry Potter.

‘When I was trying to explain the movie to people I was saying, “Imagine Harry grew up and he had to get a normal job at 23, and he had to figure out his life, and then he falls into his magic”,’ he said.

‘So I think they are wonderful comparisons but we don’t have anything near the budget of a Harry Potter movie but we do have the hopes that it will capture the imagination of our audiences in the same way.’

Patrick also said that he think’s the comparison of Harry Potter to this wizarding world movie is fair, but he thinks The Portable Door is a bit quirkier.

Irish actor Patrick Gibson (pictured), who plays the main character of Paul Carpenter in the flick, said it was incredibly to be enjoying the Queensland sun while filming

‘I think it’s quirkier but if you like Harry Potter it’s in the right realm, I think it’s like Harry Potter mixed with The Office,’ he said.     

The Portable Door follows the story of Paul Carpenter (Patrick Gibson) and Sophie Pettingel (Sophie Wilde) who work as interns at a mysterious firm in London, but they soon become aware that their colleagues are anything but conventional.

After finding a portable door that allows them to travel through time and space,  they find out that their bosses Humphrey Wells (Chrisoph Waltz) and Dennis Tanner (Sam Neill) are trying to disrupt the world of magic by bringing modern corporate strategy to ancient magical practices.

The Portable Door will begin streaming on Stan on April 7 

Damon Herriman, Arka Das, Sophie Wilde, Miranda Otto, Jeffrey Walker, Patrick Gibson and Sam Neill attend the world premiere of ‘The Portable Door’ at Hoyts Entertainment Quarter on March 23 in Sydney