Trivia / Belfast

• Actor-Shared Background: Both Jamie Dornan and Ciarán Hinds are from Belfast.
• The Cast Showoff: Jamie Dornan gets to show off his singing talents, performing "Everlasting Love" in a nightclub.
• Fake Northern-Irish: Judi Dench, who plays Granny, is English, though her mother was born in Dublin and her father grew up there.
• Production Posse: Kenneth Branagh regulars Judi Dench and Gerard Horan star in the film.
• Wag the Director: Jude Hill, being a passionate Liverpool fan, absolutely refused to express his character's support of Tottenham Hotspur during rehearsals, to which Kenneth Branagh had to concede.
• What Might Have Been:
  • Originally, the movie ended with the grown-up Buddy, played by Kenneth Branagh himself, returning to Belfast. Branagh and editor Úna Ní Dhonghaíle decided to cut it at the last minute, believing ending on the shot of Judi Dench would be more universal.
  • Anthony Hopkins was offered the role of Pop, but had to turn it down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• Write What You Know: Kenneth Branagh based the film on his own experiences growing up in Belfast at the start of The Troubles.

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