FILM · 1993 · USA
True Romance
29 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (29)
- #001
In a 2011 interview with the American Film Institute, Sir Gary Oldman was asked to name his favorite role. He chose two: Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK (1991) and Drexl Spivey in this film.
- #002
After the "eggplant scene," Dennis Hopper was afraid of being burned by the barrel and worried about being "shot" by Christopher Walken, who was holding the prop gun very close to his head. Director Tony Scott assured him the gun was one hundred percent safe and even had the prop master fire it at Scott's own forehead to test it. But after the prop gun fired, the barrel extended by about a third of an inch, and Scott was left on the ground bleeding from the wound.
- #003
Quentin Tarantino's original ending had Clarence die in the shootout, leaving Alabama a widow. Tarantino said he intended for Alabama to turn to crime and join Mr. White, a character from Reservoir Dogs (1992), which he wrote and directed. In a flashback scene in Reservoir Dogs (1992), Mr. White is asked questions about "Alabama."
- #004
After filming was completed, director Tony Scott gave Patricia Arquette the purple Cadillac, because the Ford Futura she was driving at the time kept breaking down (Patricia Arquette recounts this in the 2002 DVD commentary).
- #005
Brad Pitt improvised most of his lines.
- #006
Brad Pitt found the hat he wore on the boardwalk in Venice, California, during the kitchen scene. He took it, washed it and wore it for the film.
- #007
According to Dennis Hopper, the only words improvised in the scene with Christopher Walken were "eggplant" and "cantaloupe."
- #008
Quentin Tarantino described the Sicily scene as one of the moments he is most proud of. "I'd heard this speech about Sicilians a long time ago from a black guy who lived at my house. One day I was talking with a Sicilian friend of mine and I started telling this speech. And I thought: 'Wow, this is a great scene, I should remember this.'".
- #009
Although this film was not directed by Quentin Tarantino, it is still considered part of the Tarantino universe. The first clue is Lee Donowitz, the grandson of Sergeant Donnie Donowitz from Inglourious Basterds (2009) (confirmed by Tarantino). The second piece of evidence is that in Reservoir Dogs (1992), Mr. White mentions working with a girl named "Alabama."
- #010
In a 2014 interview, Gary Oldman said the idea for Drexl's voice came to him one day in New York. He said: "I heard a kid talking outside my trailer and I literally pulled him in off the street and said, 'Read this dialogue and tell me what you think.' He read a few lines and said, 'It's good but it doesn't fly. I wouldn't say this.' I said, 'What would you say?' And he helped with the authentication so I could come out and be that character."
- #011
The fight scene between Alabama (Patricia Arquette) and Virgil (James Gandolfini) in the motel room took five days to shoot.
- #012
According to director Tony Scott, Val Kilmer initially wanted to play the character of Clarence. Kilmer spent eight hours in makeup to transform into Elvis Presley. As it happened, he was needed for only two days of shooting. To avoid facing any lawsuit from the Presley estate, the character was named Mentor in the end credits.
- #013
Brad Pitt's character Floyd is a look at all the roommates Tarantino had to put up with before he achieved success. Floyd is the closest thing he wrote to a simple sketch of a character, and he thanks Pitt for taking nothing on the page and making it so memorable.
- #014
Sir Gary Oldman had the wig maker from Dracula (1992) work on Drexl's dreadlock wig, and he also wore one of the eyes from that same film. His 70-year-old mother was on set every day, and he got her opinions on his performance.
- #015
Patricia Arquette's four-year-old son, Enzo Rossi, appears in the final scene.
- #016
The scene in which Nicky (Chris Penn) and Cody (Tom Sizemore) interrogate Elliot (Bronson Pinchot) was improvised by the three actors.
- #017
Film editor Tony Ciccone used Soundgarden's "Outshined" as a temporary music track for the scene in which the stoner Brad Pitt gives instructions to the henchmen. The result was such a big hit at test screenings that a significant portion of the music budget was spent acquiring the rights to use the hit song in the final film.
- #018
In the first versions of the script, the character Drexl had several more scenes. Many of them were removed and reworked for Pulp Fiction (1994) before they were cut from that project as well.
- #019
In an interview, Sir Gary Oldman stated that he wanted to make a film about his character in the film, Drexl Spivey.
- #020
Quentin Tarantino chose the name Alabama as a tribute to Pam Grier's role as Alabama in The Big Doll House (1971). In the original script, Clarence mentioned that the name resembled Pam Grier's character.
- #021
Quentin Tarantino said he never went to the film's set during shooting.
- #022
The sunglasses Christian Slater wears throughout the film appear in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). After waking from his coma, he takes them from Buck and wears them to protect his eyes from the hospital's fluorescent lights.
- #023
The roller coaster scene was shot over two days. Michael Rapaport unfortunately is afraid of roller coasters and suffers from severe motion sickness; these facts were unknown to anyone on the first day of shooting. On the second day the crew was prepared for it and gave him something to calm his nerves. As a result, you can easily tell from cut to cut which day a given moment was shot on by watching his face in the background. His expression shifts back and forth between anxious and nauseated (first day) and relaxed and oblivious to his surroundings (second day).
- #024
In the DVD commentary, Quentin Tarantino admits that this is the most autobiographical film he has made to date.
- #025
In the trivia section of the DVD special features, it is reported that Quentin Tarantino sold this script for about $10,000. With that money he bought the red convertible Chevy Chevelle that Vincent Vega uses in Pulp Fiction (1994).
- #026
Tom Sizemore was initially cast as Virgil before ultimately taking on the role of Cody Nicholson. Sizemore recommended James Gandolfini for the role of Virgil.
- #027
There are two versions of the death of the cop Nicky Dimes during the shootout in the hotel room. In one of them, Dimes executes Boris because Boris killed Cody Nicholson, but then that gangster is himself shot dead by one of the gangsters just before he dies. In the other version, Dimes still executes Boris, but is then shot dead by Alabama, because she thinks he shot and killed Clarence (badly wounded but alive). Both versions were used during the film's extensive cable television broadcasts.
- #028
Drew Barrymore was the first choice for the role of Alabama Whitman, but the actress was unavailable.
- #029
The character Blue Lou Boyle was originally a speaking part (Robert De Niro was definitely the favorite), but many cuts were made in Quentin Tarantino's script, including a scene featuring him. Instead, he is briefly mentioned as Vincent Coccotti's (Christopher Walken's) partner.
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