FILM · 1991 · USA
Sleeping with the Enemy
27 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (27)
- #001
When the film was shot in the spring of 1990, Julia Roberts was 22 years old and became the youngest actor to earn a seven-figure fee for a single performance.
- #002
Using the symphony by composer Hector Berlioz, one of his favorite pieces of music, as Martin Burney's music was Patrick Bergin's idea.
- #003
When director Joseph Ruben was hired, Kim Basinger had been attached to the project in the role of Laura Burney. She ultimately turned the role down, saying she felt she was not right for it. Julia Roberts was then cast.
- #004
The name Laura chooses for herself is connected to her past life. Sara's first name means Princess, the name Martin gave her, and the surname Waters symbolizes Laura's supposed drowning.
- #005
The husband's mental health condition is "perverse narcissistic disorder."
- #006
This film ended the 11-week run of Home Alone (1990) at the top of North American box office grosses. Both were produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
- #007
The film was made and released about four years after the first publication in 1987 of the source novel of the same name written by Nancy Price.
- #008
Julia Roberts's lead role in this film was originally written for Jane Fonda.
- #009
(At about 1 hour 17 minutes) The scene in which Ben's students rehearse and Martin spies on the class is taken from Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull. It is a scene from the play's final act, in which the character Konstantin begs Nina, the woman he loves, to be with him. Nina does not return his love and rejects him, which leads Konstantin to shoot himself dead shortly afterward. The film's final scenes have many similarities. Martin believes he loves Laura/Sara as much as Konstantin loved Nina. In a similar scene later in the film, Martin begs Laura/Sara to be with him and Laura rejects him. Like Konstantin, Martin dies of a gunshot wound.
- #010
It is part of the early 1990s cycle of American Hollywood thriller-suspense films that includes various neo-noir, Hitchcock-style movies.
- #011
It was the last 20th Century Fox film to be released on VHS and on laserdisc from CBS/Fox Video.
- #012
A production photo showing the back of the Burneys' house built on a studio set can be found online. Although it is not shown in the film itself, for unknown reasons it appears on the cover of the 2009 DVD release.
- #013
The piece played from Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique was reworked mostly in the opening title sequence of The Shining (1980), the film for which it is best known.
- #014
The stars originally set to lead the film were Kim Basinger, Sean Connery and Aidan Quinn.
- #015
(At about 1 hour 18 minutes) The carnival was called "Claude Powell's Super Carnival." Claude F. Powell worked as a construction coordinator in the Art Department on this film.
- #016
Because of its cult status in India, the film was remade three times in Bollywood, first as Yaraana (1995) and then as Daraar (1996) and Agni Sakshi (1996), both of which were released the following year. Among the three, Agni Sakshi was the most successful thanks to the bold approach and realistic performances of its main cast; the first two did only average to below-average business at the box office.
- #017
When Laura succeeds in her plan to get away from Martin, she changes almost every aspect of her personal life and appearance. She moves from a stylish, modern beach house to a rural villa-style home; her long hair, which she apparently kept long because Martin preferred it, is cut into a shorter, fuller style; she goes from being dressed at all hours to wearing more casual clothes such as jeans and T-shirts; she deliberately keeps part of every room messy so it will not be perfect, mixing up the hand towels and keeping the kitchen cabinets untidy; she finds a full-time job at a library, which Martin opposes; and her new boyfriend Ben is nearly the opposite of Martin in appearance, personality, values and morals.
- #018
The small sailboat was named "DAY DREAM."
- #019
Screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin did some of the rewriting of the title without being credited.
- #020
At around the 37-minute mark, the song Ben sings when we first meet him is the musical prologue of West Side Story (1961), followed by "Jet Song."
- #021
John Cusack was offered the role of Ben.
- #022
At around 1 hour 27 minutes, near the end of the film, Symphonie Fantastique is played again. The settings on the graphic equalizer of Laura's portable cassette player resemble the notes of the 13th-century hymn Dies Irae, on which Hector Berlioz based Symphonie Fantastique.
- #023
At around 1 hour 30 minutes, while Cedar Falls, Iowa, does have a Tremont Street, the 408 address Laura reports to 911 does not exist.
- #024
This is the first of two concurrent thrillers starring Kevin Anderson released in 1991; the other is Liebestraum (1991).
- #025
After fleeing, the main character Laura goes to Sara's place. In the novel the situation is reversed. Her real name is Sara, but she calls herself Laura.
- #026
Star Julia Roberts has two character names in this film: Sara Waters and Laura Burney (full name: Laura Williams Burney).
- #027
Lloyd Fonvielle wrote the first draft of the screenplay in 1987, but his script was rewritten by other writers.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work