Hold-up at Bank of Spain? Action film with Brit actor shuts city centre

The city centre block including the Cibeles fountain roundabout and the nation's economic and financial hub were shut off to traffic and pedestrians in the dead of night for a key scene in Jaume Balagueró's latest film, Way Down, to be shot.

A brilliant engineer with a cunning plan to break into a fortress-like bank, legendary lost treasure, a massive football final that keeps the city distracted, and a tale of ancient pirates, 'all mixed together and well stirred up', Balagueró described his forthcoming production back in February.

And the Bank of Spain was chosen for the outside scenes of the hold-up, given that it is practically impossible to rob: there are no floor plans or data that could be leaked and nobody alive who knows enough about the daunting, enigmatic and formidable engineering methods used over 100 years ago to construct its armour-plated, Fort-Knox-like vaults.

But the young and gifted engineer Thom Laybrick is determined to give it a try - in fiction, at least.

British actor Freddie Highmore, well-known from the series The Good Doctor and Bates Motel, plays Laybrick, although nobody will know until at least the end of this year or beginning of next whether his character succeeds.

Filming started on Sunday afternoon and will continue until July, not only in Madrid but also in parts of the UK and on the Spanish Costas, the locations of which have not yet been revealed.