The accompanying music video was directed by Joseph Kahn , who previously directed the music videos for the second and fourth singles from '' 1989 '' ( " Blank Space " and " Bad Blood " ) . The music video was filmed in Africa and California . The video was first aired on television during the pre-show of the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on August 30 , 2015 . Scott Eastwood appeared in the video . In the video , Swift plays a fictional actress named Majorie Finn which is a reference to her grandmother 's name , Majorie Finlay , and Scott Eastwood plays a fictional actor named Robert Kingsley . Swift 's grandfather 's name was Robert and her father 's middle name is Kingsley . Swift came up with the concept after reading a book by Ava Gardner and Peter Evans , '' The Secret Conversations '' . Her premise for the video is that — since social media did not exist in the '50s — it would be impossible for actors not to fall in love if they were isolated together in Africa , since there would be no one else to talk to . According to Kahn the video is based on classic Hollywood romances like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton , as well as classic films such as '' The African Queen '' , '' Out of Africa '' and '' The English Patient '' . As of April 2019 the video has received over 650 million views on YouTube
2015 MTV Video Music Awards
2015 MTV Video Music Awards
Wildest Dreams (Taylor Swift song)