FILM · 2014 · USA
Divergent
- Directed by
- Neil Burger
- Runtime
- 140 min
- Studio
- Summit Entertainment, Red Wagon Entertainment
42 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
In a world divided into factions based on personality types, Tris learns that she's been classified as Divergent and won't fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it's too late.
42 Interesting Facts About Divergent
Interesting Facts (27)
- #001
While being zipped into the lining after capturing the flag, the person who opens the door and is the first to climb onto the roof is Divergent series author Veronica Roth.
- #002
Kate Winslet said she accepted the role of Jeanine because she wanted to do something very different from her usual roles and also wanted to make a film her children could watch. According to her, they became quite popular at school once word spread that their mother was Jeanine.
- #003
Contains a major spoiler — show
The scene from the book in which Edward is stabbed in the eye with a butter knife by Peter was filmed, but it was later cut because it was deemed too violent for a PG-13 film. With the scene included, the film would have received an R rating.
- #004
Shailene Woodley initially turned down the role of Tris but changed her mind after talking about it with Jennifer Lawrence.
- #005
Kate Winslet joined the production somewhat later than most of the other actors. As a result, she deliberately was not overly friendly toward them when Jeanine was on screen, hoping this would help reduce the tension. After a few days she began to behave more kindly.
- #006
To prepare for her role in Divergent, Shailene Woodley received several days of firearms training from the Secret Service-style security group known as the DPS group. The firearms instructors in the DPS group are real-life LAPD officers Charles Wunder and Jamie McBride, the same officers the main characters in End of Watch (2012) were roughly based on. They were partners in the Newton Division from the mid-to-late '90s.
- #007
Contains a major spoiler — show
A initiate named Edward is present throughout the first stage of training: he helps pull Christina up from the edge of the cliff, is the first chosen by Eric to capture the flag, says the line "You're the only one who's ever stood up to him," places first, and celebrates when the stage-one rankings are announced, among other things. However, he is never seen again after the first stage of training. Edward, who appears in the book but not in the film, was eliminated by the weaker Peter, who stabbed him in the eye with a butter knife while he slept. Al also feels that Tris has threatened him and tries to eliminate her by throwing her into the chasm in the film.
- #008
When the factions are first introduced, each faction's symbol is visible: the Erudite eye looking up from a microscope, the Amity tree in the middle of a field, the Candor scales during a court hearing, the Dauntless flames on the side of a building, and Abnegation holding hands while helping the Factionless.
- #009
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the film, when Tris is jumped by three hooded figures (who later try to throw her into the chasm), only one removes his hood, revealing himself to be Al. In the book she also discovers that the others are fellow initiates named Peter and Drew. However, if you watch the fight scene closely, you can actually see that Miles Teller (Peter) is one of the other two.
- #010
Although most of the weapons used in the film are props with CGI muzzle flashes, the futuristic-looking handgun seen during Four's/Tris's hallucination is a real firearm. It is a Chiappa 'Rhino', available in various calibers, finishes and barrel lengths.
- #011
The producers were aware of the story's superficial similarities to The Hunger Games, but they felt that Divergent's urban world would contrast with the rural feel of The Hunger Games and help differentiate the two.
- #012
The film rights were purchased after the success of the Twilight (2008) films, but the project did not move into production until The Hunger Games (2012) became a success. To distinguish Divergent from The Hunger Games, director Neil Burger emphasized the urban setting (as opposed to the rural setting of the arena in The Hunger Games) and used a great deal of sharp, neon color.
- #013
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the film, Tris fights and defeats Molly, an initiate guarding the flag. This fight does not appear in the book, but there is a brawl between the two at the training center in which Tris decisively beats the stronger Molly and improves her ranking.
- #014
Pop star Ellie Goulding provided Tris's "inner voice" in the film's music. As Theo James said in an interview, you can hear her voice "peppered" into the film's score in the background of key scenes.
- #015
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the book, Christina is the first to capture the flag, and Tris says to her, "You're already the hero of the day." In the film, Tris captures the flag first, but Christina quickly joins her, and Christina carries the flag on the way back.
- #016
While filming the film's public scenes, the producers used the cover name "Catbird".
- #017
One of the main things that drew Woodley to the project was the relationship between Tris and Four: "It's very different than the Bella/Edward relationship; they're completely on the opposite sides of the spectrum."
- #018
In the similarly themed Hunger Games series, Zoë Kravitz's father, Lenny Kravitz, appears.
- #019
Some of the violence from the book was toned down to secure a PG-13 rating. There is less visual violence (e.g. blood splatter) and more "emotional violence."
- #020
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the book, after Tris is shot in the shoulder, she endures a long and painful recovery for the rest of the book and part of the second book. In the film, her being shot is not very significant and she suffers very little pain.
- #021
In the book, the second person to jump is Christina. In the film, it is a Dauntless-born male.
- #022
After the first Dauntless test, the initiates receive their rankings after Eric. However, "Tris" is misspelled as "Triss."
- #023
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the "Free Four" book, a tattoo is done on Four using a needle, but in the film Tori uses something more like ink transfer to put the three birds on Tris.
- #024
The structure on the wall is the Duga radar array. One is located in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It operated as an early-warning radar system for the Soviet Union from July 1976 to December 1989. Because of the noise it made, it was jokingly nicknamed the Woodpecker.
- #025
This is not the first film Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort appeared in together. If Woodley had not turned down the role of Carrie White, the first could have been Carrie (2013). Elgort played Tommy Ross, a potential love interest, in that film. A year later, both appeared in The Fault in Our Stars (2014).
- #026
Trump Tower can be seen in some of the city scenes, but the controversial 20-meter sign on the 16th floor is not there. The sign was not put up until May 2014, two months after the film's release.
- #027
In the flag capture scene, Peter and Eric are hit with neurological stimulant arrows in the same places: the leg and the chest.
Production Story (4)
- #028
There was a love scene filmed between Tris and Four, but it had to be cut because of the film's PG-13 rating.
- #029
The acrostic of the first letters of the group names, Factionless/Abnegation/Candor/Amity/Dauntless/Erudite, spells FACADE. Insisting that people are divided into only 6 rigid categories is an image that has certainly misled everyone.
- #030
Jeremy Irvine was the first choice for the role of Tobias 'Four' Eaton but turned it down because he did not want to be seen as a teen idol.
- #031
Summit/Lionsgate met with some of the cast and prepared them for the experiences ahead with an eager fan base.
Behind the Scenes (2)
- #032
The sound Peter (Miles Teller) makes when Tris (Shailene Woodley) punches him in the throat is real. Woodley was hesitant because she did not want to hurt Teller. As filming went on, Teller and Woodley became more aggressive with each other, and during one take Woodley struck Teller in the throat when he was not expecting it. That take is the one used in the film.
- #033
Kate Winslet was five months pregnant during filming. Although she was on set for only four weeks, her pregnancy reached the point of becoming noticeable. She was shot in the waist or directed to carry folders, files and an iPad.
Characters & Cast (5)
- #034
Miles Teller initially auditioned for the role of Four but was told he would not get it. Months later, the producers watched The Spectacular Now (2013) and were so impressed that they called Teller and offered him the role of Eric, who was meant to be antagonistic and intimidating toward Four. Teller turned the offer down because he felt he could not pull off being intimidating opposite Theo James. He was later offered the role of Peter, which he accepted after his friend and former co-star Shailene Woodley sent him a message asking him to take the part so they could work together again.
- #035
Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller had trouble shooting the fight scenes because of their close friendship. Woodley struggled in particular, and at one point she referred to Teller as "Sutter," his character's name in The Spectacular Now (2013), in which the pair played a couple. Teller had to pull Woodley aside and argue with her to get her to be aggressive toward him.
- #036
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the book, a character named Uriah appears many times as Tris's friend and ally. He is a Dauntless-born initiate and has an older brother named Zeke who was initiated in Four's year, but neither appears in the film. However, in the scene after the flag-capture scene, a Dauntless boy asks Tris to join them for a tradition (the zip line down from the Hancock Building). This character, named Ezra (a character specific to the film), replaces Uriah, who invites Tris to join in the book. Curiously, Ezra matches the book's description of Uriah, who will first appear in the second film of the Divergent series, The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015), played by Keiynan Lonsdale.
- #037
In the original script, Molly had no lines and was essentially a fight role.
- #038
Shailene Woodley was considered for the role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games (2012), in which Lenny Kravitz, the father of Zoe Kravitz, appeared.
Deeper Meaning (4)
- #039
Production designer Andy Nicholson looked to 1920s abstract Russian constructivist art as inspiration for Four's full back tattoo. The sharp lines may look conventional on paper, but they are grasped and curled on Theo James's body; they need to be touched. "It was about following the lines that your hand might follow if you're feeling someone's back," Nicholson explains. To apply the temporary tattoos, makeup artist Brad Wilder divided the transfer paper into about 40 pieces, creating a "giant jigsaw puzzle." Assembling the design on James's back then took three people more than three hours. The actor listened to jazz music to pass the time.
- #040
The fence around Chicago is modeled on the Duga-2 antenna array, a Soviet-era over-the-horizon radar transmitter located in Ukraine, in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Broadcasts from the antenna caused interference on commercial and amateur radio. Its NATO codename is Steel Yard, and it is also known as the Russian Woodpecker because of its 10 Hz repeating signal.
- #041
Early on, Zoë Kravitz bought the cast tickets to an Erykah Badu concert in Chicago, and that is where they all began to bond.
- #042
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the book, Tris has three tattoos: birds on her collarbone, the Abnegation symbol on her right shoulder (her birth faction) and the Dauntless symbol on her left shoulder (her newly chosen faction). In the film we only see her get the birds, but if you look carefully the other two are visible as well. For example, you can see the Abnegation symbol when Tris and Four watch the sunset after entering Four's fear landscape.
Related pages
- Miles Teller — Divergent comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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