FILM · 2001 · USA
Training Day
- Directed by
- Antoine Fuqua
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Studio
- WV Films II, Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment
60 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
Summary: TMDB
39 Interesting Facts About Training Day
- #004
When the film was released, many viewers and critics were skeptical of the scenes in which Jake Hoyt smokes PCP-laced marijuana and of Alonzo's explanation of how a police officer who refuses the drugs offered to him on the street could be introduced as a cop and then killed. In an interview, David Ayer responded by highlighting a specific section of the L.A.P.D.'s rules and regulations stating that officers are permitted to use narcotics in very specific undercover situations, closely following what Alonzo tells Jake.
- #007
Contains a major spoiler — show
Immediately after Smiley tells Sniper to deal the cards again, the sound of Alonzo's car is heard.
- #008
Contains a major spoiler — show
The original ending allowed Alonzo to get away with his crimes, but Denzel Washington insisted it be changed so that Alonzo dies.
- #009
To give his character a much more authentic look, Denzel Washington decided to have the same look as disgraced L.A.P.D. Officer Rafael Perez.
- #010
The coffee shop at the beginning of the film (which happened to be the first scene shot) is the same shop used in the scene in Seven (1995) where Morgan Freeman meets with Gwyneth Paltrow. The window in both films reads "Quality Cafe." Quality Cafe was also used in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Ghost World (2001) and Catch Me If You Can (2002).
- #012
David Ayer was the only writer who worked on the script, a situation so rare that it earned him a congratulatory call from the president of Warner Bros. Pictures.
- #013
The film had several police technical advisors. Among them was Detective-Sergeant Brian Davis of the L.A.P.D., a veteran who was one of the most respected and most decorated officers of the famous elite Special Investigation Section.
- #015
Antoine Fuqua says the production was a very intense period of his life. The locations in South Central Los Angeles included some neighborhoods overrun by gangs, and Fuqua also experienced some personal grief in the middle of filming. After the film was released, Fuqua needed to distance himself from it and did little promotion. He attended the 58th Venice International Film Festival, where the film had its out-of-competition premiere in 2001.
- #016
While Hoyt plays cards in the gang house, the gang members drink Heisler beer. This is a fictional beer brand used in many films and television shows, including Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
- #017
Eminem was offered the role of rookie cop Jake Hoyt. The rapper turned down the offer because of the development of 8 Mile (2002) and his availability for it.
- #019
Contains a major spoiler — show
According to Antoine Fuqua in the DVD commentary, during the rooftop fight scene between Jake and Alonzo, the reason it is so violent was to show how ruthless Alonzo is, and he initially wanted to show a flashback to where the Russian man was killed, but this never happened, so he used the fight scene in which Alonzo fights Jake as an example of how the Russian was killed in Vegas.
- #020
Contains a major spoiler — show
A scene was filmed but deleted that showed Alonzo was not always corrupt. Alonzo and Jake go to the house of a man named Spooky. Alonzo tells Jake that in his second week patrolling as an LAPD officer, he stopped in front of Spooky's house and witnessed an elderly man named Tufine beating a dog with a garden hose. Alonzo got out of the car wanting to do something about it, but his partner would not let him, because Spooky had paid Tufine to beat the dog to teach it to hate Black people. Alonzo said he nearly quit the job and wanted to get on a bus and go home.
- #021
The film's gang technical consultant, Cle Sloan, managed to bring real-life gang members from the Rollin' 60 Crips, P. J. Watts Crips and B. P. Stones to the screen.
- #022
The fictional Hispanic street gang Hillside Trece (13) is based on many real-life Hispanic Sureño street gangs in the Los Angeles area. A common feature of many Sureño street gangs is the number 13, which corresponds to the letter "M" and is known in Spanish as La Eme (pronounced A-May). La Eme is the Mexican Mafia, a prison gang to which most Sureño street gangs are affiliated. New Zealand Maori actor Cliff Curtis spent time with real Hispanic gang members while preparing for the role of Smiley, learning about their daily lives.
- #023
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg appear in the film. Dre was also responsible for the film's music.
- #025
Contains a major spoiler — show
Throughout the film, Hoyt often does the exact opposite of what Alonzo tells him to do. Alonzo tells him not to get involved in anything other than organized crime and to avoid wasting time on petty crimes, but he helps the raped girl (which ultimately saves his life); he tells him never to mention his family while working, but he reveals he is married and has a daughter while about to be shot in the bathtub; he tells Hoyt never to enter the tough "Jungles" neighborhood without him, but he does (which ultimately helps him catch Alonzo).
- #028
The word "fuck" is used two hundred and eleven times.
- #029
Before Antoine Fuqua became involved in the project, Davis Guggenheim was set to direct with Samuel L. Jackson as Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris and Matt Damon as rookie Officer Jake Hoyt. When Denzel Washington accepted the role of Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris, Guggenheim was replaced at his own request. Jackson would later voice Officer Frank Tenpenny in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a character also based on Rafael Perez.
- #032
Contains a major spoiler — show
The original ending of the screenplay had Hoyt crashing into Alonzo's girlfriend's pad and finding the training officer in the middle of a threesome with two young women. Hoyt shows him the money Smiley was supposed to hand over to the Russians and tells him there is a hit squad looking for him everywhere. Alonzo then commits suicide in front of Hoyt.
- #034
Scott Glenn and Denzel Washington both played the character John Creasy in film adaptations of A. J. Quinell's Man on Fire; Glenn in Man on Fire (1987) and Washington in Man on Fire (2004).
- #035
Alonzo's car is a 1979 Chevy Monte Carlo with several modifications: it has Dayton wire wheels with bullet caps, a Grant steering wheel, a Flowmaster exhaust and hydraulics. In addition, the vehicle is equipped with a sunroof, which Monte Carlos of that era never had.
- #037
The studio wanted to cut the three wise men scene featuring Raymond J. Barry, Tom Berenger and Harris Yulin. Director Antoine Fuqua fought hard to keep it in, insisting it showed that Alonzo's actions were sanctioned by the powers that be.
- #039
The scene in which Jake plays cards with Mexican gang members in the kitchen took several weeks to shoot.
- #040
Alonzo's weapon of choice in the film is the Smith & Wesson 4506, two of which he carries in a double shoulder holster. The 4506 is a .45 ACP semi-automatic that had previously been used by many police departments across the country.
- #041
Eva Mendes was considering quitting acting when she landed her role in the film. She had grown increasingly frustrated with the quality of the parts she was getting. She gave the profession another thirteen years before deciding to quit again.
- #042
The role of Alonzo Harris was offered to Gary Sinise, Gary Oldman, Tom Sizemore, Bruce Willis, James Woods, Larenz Tate and Dennis Hopper. Willis later worked with Antoine Fuqua on Tears of the Sun (2003).
- #043
Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke later worked with Antoine Fuqua on The Magnificent Seven (2016).
- #045
The Jungle housing project where Alonzo takes Hoyt is a real housing project in Los Angeles called Baldwin Village. It takes its name from the palm trees and other vegetation first planted there when it was built in the late 1940s. Originally intended for working families in Crenshaw, Los Angeles's traditional black neighborhood, it was meant to offer a paradise-like setting with views of the Hollywood sign and the nearby mountains, public swimming pools and lush, grassy common areas. This was a time when most black families relied on jobs in local industry, before California's manufacturing base moved overseas. Over time it fell into disrepair and was taken over by the housing authority to provide subsidized housing for low-income families.
- #046
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the scene immediately following Roger's murder, Denzel Washington's character is talking on the phone just before Ethan Hawke gets into the car. Alonzo (Denzel Washington) can be heard saying into the phone, "just make sure that bathtub is clean." It is later revealed that Smiley and his crew planned to shoot Hoyt in the bathtub, so since Alonzo was clearly talking to Smiley on the phone earlier, it is clear that Alonzo knew Smiley and his crew were planning to kill Hoyt.
- #047
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the robbery scene in which the crew robs and eventually kills Roger, Denzel Washington's character tries to intimidate Jake by offering him a false tribute: "Today, a Los Angeles Police Department narcotics officer was killed during a high-risk arrest warrant in Echo Park. An LAPD spokesman said the officer is survived by his wife and baby child." This is said almost verbatim in the final scene in a press release as Jake is walking into his home: "A Los Angeles Police Department narcotics officer was killed today while serving a high-risk warrant near LAX. An LAPD spokesman said the officer, Alonzo Harris, is survived by his wife and four sons."
- #048
The film's screenplay was written in 1995.
- #049
The actor Harris Yulin had previously played a corrupt narcotics detective, Mel Bernstein, in Scarface (1983).
- #050
Terry Crews was invited to visit the set by his friend, location manager Earl West. Director Antoine Fuqua noticed Crews and asked him to play an uncredited gang member in the film. In one scene the crew releases pigeons into the air, and he can be seen during Denzel Washington's final speech. According to Crews, he was able to sneak a look at Washington's script and saw "For the wages of sin is death" written on the cover.
- #053
This marked the first time a film crew was allowed into the notorious Imperial Courts housing project in Los Angeles.
- #055
To prepare for her first acting role, Macy Gray wore a wig and gold teeth and walked around her neighborhood to see whether she would be recognized.
- #056
Denzel Washington and Scott Glenn had previously appeared together in Courage Under Fire (1996).
- #057
Eva Mendes and Denzel Washington appeared together two years later in Out of Time (2003).
- #058
Denzel Washington and Tom Berenger had previously appeared together in the 1979 TV film Flesh & Blood.
- #059
This was Namrata Singh Gujral's debut.
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