Trivia

Terry Gilliam tested more than half a dozen actors to play the part of Jill, interviewing or testing Jamie Lee Curtis, Rebecca De Mornay, Rae Dawn Chong, Joanna Pacula, Rosanna Arquette, Kelly McGillis, Ellen Barkin, and he even considered Madonna. Gilliam's personal favorite was Barkin.

Robert De Niro wanted to play the role of Jack, but Gilliam had already promised this to Michael Palin. De Niro still wanted to be in the film, so he was cast as Tuttle instead.

Jonathan Pryce's role as Sam was written years earlier with him in mind. The character was originally designed to be in his mid-twenties (Pryce was only about 30 when Gilliam was developing the script), but after many years in limbo, Gilliam changed the character's age to mid-to-late thirties so that then-37-year-old Pryce could still play the role.

Director Terry Gilliam was reported to have been rather unhappy with Kim Greist's performance, and as a result many of her scenes were drastically cut and/or trimmed down. Some of these were added for the Sid Sheinberg "Love Conquers All" studio version.

Gilliam had trouble with studio producers over the black ending he wanted on the film. The producers wanted a "happy Hollywood" film which eliminated (among other things) the final transition and a critical line of dialogue which reveals the fate of Jill. These changes were made, and this "butchered" version was shown on US television at least once. Gilliam threatened to disown the film, and consequently the cinematic release and all videotape versions show the film essentially as he intended it to be seen (although the US cinematic release still omitted the line about Jill).

When Mr. Helpman spells out the code that Sam's father used to get to Helpman's floor on the elevator, the letters are ERE I AM JH. When you rearrange those letters it spells JEREMIAH, Sam's father's name.

Lots of significant names: - Mr. Kurtzman: (German for "short man"): small in stature and success. Named after the editor of "Help" (Harvey Kurtzman), a magazine that director Terry Gilliam worked for in the mid-60s. It was at a photo shoot for this magazine that Gilliam met John Cleese, who would later invite him to join the Monty Python team. - Mr. Helpman: "helped" Sam - Mr. Warrenn: works in a rabbit-warren style place: a maze of corridors - Harvey Lime: possibly a reference to Harry Lime in The Third Man (1949).

The "young Mrs. Lowry" was played by both Kim Greist and Katherine Helmond.

Sidney Sheinberg's name is listed in the credits next to Worst Boy. Terry Gilliam and Sheinberg fought notoriously over the content and release of the film.