Trivia / Backdraft

• Acting for Two: Kurt Russell also played Dennis McCaffrey, his character's father.
• All-Star Cast: Robert De Niro, Kurt Russell, Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, J. T. Walsh.
• California Doubling: Mostly averted. All the scenes at Bull's boat were shot on the bank of the Chicago River; the big drawbridge in the background (used primarily by Amtrak trains) still exists, and operates, in Chicago as of 2020.
• Cast the Expert:
  • Cedric Young (Grindle), Kevin Casey (Nightengale), and Richard Lexsee (Washington) are former Chicago firefighters. Jack McGee was a firefighter as well.
  • Many of the extras in the film are actual Chicago firefighters. A casting call was put out in a Department memo prior to the start of shooting. In addition, many suburban firemen participated in the funeral procession.
• The Danza: Jennifer Vaitkus, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh.
• Deleted Scene: Several, including:
  • Brian returning to the academy and arguing with Chief Fitzgerald to return
  • Showing Adcox preparing the first arson, and showing the members of the conspiracy.
  • Extended footage from the first and second scenes on the boat boat, the aftermath of the arson attacks, the retirement party, Ronald's parole hearing, and funeral.
  • A scene where 17 drops off food for a widow of a fallen firefighter.
  • The company congratulating Pignelli making captain as Axe and Bull look on.
  • Bull investigating the scene of the first arson on his own.
  • Brian revealing details of the investigation to Jennifer, being thrown out by Shadow, then confronting Jennifer over it.
  • Bull and Shadow speaking to each other after Tim's burning.
  • Several scenes showing more in-depth investigations into the victims of the arson attacks.
• Dyeing for Your Art: The cast trained with real CFD firefighters and did much of their own stuntwork.
• Method Acting: Robert De Niro put in an incredible amount of research for his role, speaking extensively with real CFD arson investigators and even had the shooting for his scenes delayed for a week so he could adequately prepare. Ron Howard recalls being amazed at how De Niro showed up on set having combined the gait, speech patterns, and mannerisms of three real firefighters to create a fully-formed character. It was seeing this dedication to the craft that led Ron Howard to begin doing meticulous research, and encourage his actors to do the same, for all of his projects.
• No Stunt Double: Kurt Russell, Kevin Casey, Scott Glenn, and William Baldwin did a lot of their own stunts, and the Stunt Coordinator Walter Scott was so impressed by their performances, that he credited them as stunt performers in the credits. Scott Glenn noted that while shooting the climactic scene where he's on fire, the fire had eaten through his coat and several layers of fire-resistant clothing. There was only a single layer left by the time he yelled cut on the scene^note Because of the inherent danger of the fire sequences, actors were allowed to call cut if they felt their safety was at risk. Normally, an actor calling cut is considered unprofessional behavior and will cause tension on set and he was doused.
• Real-Life Relative: Following tradition, Ron Howard cast his brother Clint Howard as Ricco the pathologist.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Dennis Quaid turned down the role of "Bull" McCaffrey.
  • Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Matt Dillon and Val Kilmer turned down the role of Brian McCaffrey. Robert Downey Jr. and Keanu Reeves auditioned for the role. Brad Pitt was initially cast, then dropped out in order to be in Thelma & Louise.
• Write What You Know: The film was based partly on writer Gregory Widen's experiences as a Chicago firefighter, a position he left after one of his best friends died on the job.

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