Trivia for
The Fugitive (1993) More at IMDbPro »

• The part of Dr. Charles Nichols was to be played by actor Richard Jordan, but Jeroen Krabbé took over when Jordan fell ill.
  
  
• A train was actually crashed for the movie, although Kimble jumping free was a superimposed image.
  
  
• Harrison Ford damaged some ligaments in his leg during the filming of the scenes in the woods. He refused to take surgery until the end of filming so that his character would keep the limp. The limp can be seen in any subsequent scene where Richard Kimble is running.
  
  
• The train scenes were filmed in Dillsboro, North Carolina. The engine used (which was not destroyed) now pulls a dinner train. During a ride on that train, props from the making of the film can be seen, including the prison bus and the shell of the engine that crashed into the bus. Dillsboro is next to the town on Sylva, NC where the local hospital was used for filming the hospital scenes in the beginning of the film and the ambulance get-away.
  
  
• Harrison Ford had never seen a single episode of the TV series "The Fugitive" (1963), upon which the film was based.
  
  
• Richard Kimble was played by David Janssen in the original TV series "The Fugitive" (1963). His mother, Bernice, is an extra in the courtroom scene. You can spot her behind Harrison Ford's head while they play the 911 call and when he is declared guilty. She is whispering with another woman.
  
  
• A destination indicator on an EL train reads "Kimball" and the next shot tracks over a building that has a sign reading "Harrison" (These are two actual Chicago locations; in addition, there are both subway and EL stops on a Harrison Street).
  
  
• In the 2001 DVD release, a man's face has been digitally removed from the train-wreck aftermath. In previous transfers of the film, a man's face is looking back at the camera when Kimble peers up at the train wreck from the creek.
  
  
• According to producer Roy Huggins, Gerard's line in response to Richard Kimble's claim of innocence ("I didn't kill my wife") was originally read in the script as, "That isn't my problem." But at the request of Tommy Lee Jones, it was changed to, "I don't care."
  
  
• When Kimble calls Nichols to tell him that Devlin-McGregor is behind his wife's murder, Kimble is phoning from the lobby of the University of Chicago's science library (John Crerar Library). Crerar is known for its extensive biomedical texts collection.
  
  
• The credits run over the first 14 minutes of the film.
  
  
• The chase through the St. Patrick's Day parade was a spur of the moment thing. You can see how surprised some of the people are when Ford and Jones join in.
  
  
• Some of the newscasters interviewing Gerard are actual newscasters in Chicago.
  
  
• Rather than having to come up with a disguise for Richard Kimble, director Andrew Davis had Harrison Ford start the film with a beard, then shave it off
  
  
• The picture of Richard Kimble on the composite from medical school is actually Harrison Ford's yearbook picture from Ripon College. He (almost) graduated in 1964, nine years before the picture was said to have been from.
  
  
• The director only had one chance to crash the train in the train scene and had to get it right, so he consulted an array of engineers, stunt doubles, the insurance company, to try to ascertain exactly what would happen, the train was expected to crash into his bus at a speed of 35 miles per hour, but the director was in error, the train came at a speed of 42 miles per hour. Nevertheless, the scene still went exactly as planned.
  
  
• Kimble's apartment is modeled after an actual doctor that Harrison Ford and the director met in a Chicago bar shortly before filming. Ford felt that the doctor, somewhat eccentric and reclusive, was exactly how he wanted to portray Kimble and sent the art department to see his apartment. The doctor was also treated to a drink by Ford.
  
  
• Filming began before the script was completed.
  
  
• Kevin Costner was considered for the role of Richard Kimble.
  
  
• Jon Voight and Gene Hackman were both offered the role of Sam Gerard.
  
  
• The dam used in the exterior shots is Cheoah Dam, Tapoco, Graham County, North Carolina, USA. The dam can be viewed clearly from North Carolina State Highway 129, just north of the town of Tapoco, NC.
  
  
• Walter Hill dropped out of directing.
  
  
• Alec Baldwin was first choice to play Dr. Richard Kimble. When he dropped out, Andy Garcia was considered for the role.
  
  
• Harrison Ford took over the lead role after Alec Baldwin passed on it - something he also did the year before on Patriot Games (1992).
  
  
• Robert Mark Kamen, David Newman, and David Giler & Walter Hill all contributed to the script.
  
  
• To date the only remake of a regular television series to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. Earlier winner Marty (1955) was a remake of a television movie of the week. Later nominee Traffic (2000) was adapted from a television miniseries.
  
  
• According to the DVD commentary, the scene in which the Chicago police interrogate Richard Kimble (Ford) was improvised.
  
  
• Richard Jordan, who was originally cast as Dr. Nichols, actually filmed some scenes with Harrison Ford before he became ill and had to drop out of the picture. These scenes had to be re-shot with Jeroen Krabbé. If you look closely at Krabbé's first scene, Ford's beard looks different because he had to regrow it for the re-shoot.
  
  
• During the St. Patrick's Day Parade, the smiling African American man in the hat is Roland Burris, then Attorney General of Illinois, now the Junior Senator from Illinois who filled the seat vacated by President Barack Obama.
  
  
• In an episode of "Scrubs",entitled "My Friend the Doctor", it is revealed that the Janitor played a part in The Fugitive. Neil Flynn, who plays the Janitor, played the transit cop that is shot on the train.
  
  
• Dr. Kathy Waylund (played by Jane Lynch) was considered as a love interest for Richard Kimble during production of the film. However, their relation remained platonic, as it would have looked bad for Dr. Kimble to take a new lover while avenging the death of his wife. In addition, it was thought the love scenes would have added considerable length to the film and may have ruined the pacing and tension of the story at that juncture.
  
  
• Ron Dean and Joseph F. Kosala, whose play Detective Kelly and Detective Rosetti, were together in other two films previously, Code of Silence (1985) and Above the Law (1988).
  
  
• Walte Hill wanted to direct with Nick Nolte starring, but Nolte reportedly said he was tired with action movies and too old.
  
  
• During the scene on the El train. The conductor announces the next stop as "Malbone Street". Malbone Street is the site of an infamous subway wreck in Brooklyn, New York on November 1, 1918 that killed 93 people. After the tragedy, Malbone Street was changed to Empire Boulevard.
  
  
• The young boy Kimble treats at Cook County Hospital is played by Joel Robinson. His real name is used in the film, as Kimble refers to him as "Joel," and his full name can briefly be seen when Kimble inspects his chart.
  
  
• The only film based on a television series to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
  
  
• While filming this movie, Harrison Ford also filmed a cameo appearance on "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (1992). This gave George Lucas the idea of making another Indiana Jones film with Ford, set in the 1950s. The beard he had grown for this film resulted in Indy being bearded in that episode as well. Appropriately, the resulting film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) also ended up featuring Neil Flynn, who played a subway cop in this film.
  
  
• Julianne Moore's brief role landed her an interview with Steven Spielberg, who would later cast her in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
  
  

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