Trivia / The Usual Suspects

• Acting in the Dark: In order to protect the central mystery of the film, Bryan Singer kept some of the actors from knowing more about the story than their characters would be aware of — and in some cases actively misled them so they would give performances hinting at Red Herring solutions. Gabriel Byrne, whose character is suspected of being Keyser Söze in disguise, spent the entire shoot believing that he was, and only learned the truth the first time he watched the finished film.
• Award Category Fraud: Kevin Spacey won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor category, despite having more than half the lines in the film. One would expect such a performance to be given the main Best Actor category instead. (This may have been done for tactical reasons, as Spacey was not a particularly well known actor at the time, mostly known from Se7en and with this being his Star-Making Role, and the film's promoters may not have wanted him to go against better known stars such as Nicolas Cage, who won the Best Actor award that year; also, Verbal as a supporting character could hide the twist regarding who he is).
• Breakthrough Hit: For Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie.
• Cast the Runner-Up:
  • Kevin Spacey was originally interested in either Dean Keaton or Dave Kujan.
  • Clark Gregg was considered for Kujan before being cast as Dr. Walters.
  • Benicio del Toro was originally asked to audition for the role of McManus. He asked to audition for the role of Fenster, telling Bryan Singer that he had an "idea" for the part.
• Corpsing: In the line-up scene, right after McManus overacts to hell, the others are clearly struggling not to laugh at him. And then they all crack up before Fenster's turn. (in reality, no one could keep a straight face while filming that scene, apparently helped by Benicio del Toro having terrible flatulence - Gabriel Byrne, who's standing right next to del Toro, is clearly covering his nose)
• Creator-Chosen Casting:
  • The role of Verbal Kint was always intended for Kevin Spacey.
  • Bryan Singer always wanted Chazz Palminteri for Dave Kujan, but he was always unavailable.
• Doing It for the Art: All the actors worked for less than their usual fees.
• DVD Commentary: The commentary is played straight until the final scenes, when Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie suddenly engage in a heated argument. Portions of the argument fade in and out of the commentary track much like the dialogue of the film's climax. The filmmakers each land a parting insult before the track ends.
• Enforced Method Acting: McManus getting a lit cigarette thrown into his eye was an accident. Stephen Baldwin doubling over and swearing, as well as Benicio del Toro's look of panicked alertness, were both actors' genuine reactions. In the blooper reel, Peter Greene (Redfoot) can be heard yelling “Jesus!” before rushing over to Baldwin to see if he’s ok.
• Fake Nationality:
  • According to Benicio del Toro, Fenster is a "Black Chinese Puerto Rican Jew."
  • According to Bryan Singer's and Christopher McQuarrie's DVD Commentary, Kobayashi is supposed to be Pakistani with a Japanese name.
• Hostility on the Set:
  • In the "making of" documentary, both Stephen Baldwin and Kevin Pollak acknowledge that their long-standing feud with each other began on the set of this film. Though neither actor directly states what caused their animosity towards each other, Pollak does mention that Baldwin, in an attempt to stay in character as MacManus, would go around acting tough and sometimes bully the other actors. Baldwin does admit that he was bullying towards Pollak on film (their numerous "stand off" confrontations with each other on screen).
  • After Kevin Spacey's career was torpedoed in 2017, Gabriel Byrne stated that he very much engaged in "sexually inappropriate behavior" on set, causing the production to be halted for a while. Kevin Pollak claims that Spacey engaged in an affair with the much younger boyfriend (possibly 17 years old) of Bryan Singer. After that, Singer refused to direct Spacey any further (leaving an AD to take over) and the two didn't speak to each other for ten years.
• Hypothetical Casting: Fenster was originally written with a Harry Dean Stanton-type actor in mind.
• Inspiration for the Work: Christopher McQuarrie reputedly got the idea for the film whilst standing in a cinema line-up.
• Orphaned Reference: In the original script, the opening scene was longer, featuring a subplot of Keaton planting a bomb on the ship. It was shot but later left on the cutting floor. Part of it remained with Keaton asking Keyzer, "What time is it?" Because of the last minute change, all shots of the exploding ship were shot in Bryan Singer's backyard.
• Real-Life Relative: The nurse behind the counter is played by Bryan Singer's mother.
• Renamed to Avoid Association: Originally, Keyser Söze was supposed to have the name Keyser Sume, named after Christopher McQuarrie's old boss. He allowed the man to read the script, but he didn't want to be associated with an inherently evil villain, so requested a change be made.
• Spared by the Cut: The original script contains a scene where Redfoot's bullet-ridden corpse is found embedded in a windshield.
• Star-Making Role: For Kevin Spacey (he even won an Oscar) and Benicio del Toro.
• Throw It In!:
  • The famous line-up scene was originally scripted as everyone being aloof and serious, a way of being defiant to the police. The day prior to filming the scene was a long, tense day of filming in a prison. Singer decided to take the cast to lunch the next day, the day of the line-up scene, to lighten the mood. The lunch turned into a "lovefest" according to Bryan Singer, with all the actors becoming giddy. The giddiness carried over into the scene when Benicio del Toro's flatulence provoked endless chuckling. Singer was originally frustrated, but the footage was genuinely funny, it showed the characters bonding and still fit the idea of them being defiant.
  • Del Toro improvised his unintelligible accent as a way to stand out. Actors were directed to ask him to repeat himself if they couldn't understand his line readings. At least two of these ad-libs were included in the final cut. The line-up scene has an offscreen exasperated "In english please." from the crew which was not part of the script but was left in as it fit the moment perfectly.
    Hockney: ...What'd he say??
  • When Redfoot (Peter Greene) flicks his cigarette at McManus (Stephen Baldwin), the actor was aiming at chest level, but in one take the lit cigarette ended up hitting Baldwin in the eye. This take, featuring the Enforced Method Acting of the cast's genuine reaction, was used in the final cut.
• Troubled Production: In December 2017, Gabriel Byrne revealed that the film's production had to be shut down for two days due to Kevin Spacey making inappropriate sexual advances towards a younger actor.
• Uncredited Role: Peter Greene, the actor who played Redfoot. This may be because the end shows that the character may well have never existed in universe.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Al Pacino was the first choice for Dave Kujan, but he was already playing a detective in Heat and turned it down. He has since cited this as the role he regrets turning down the most. Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken also passed on it.
  • Fenster was originally envisioned as an older, seasoned criminal, with Harry Dean Stanton in mind for the part.
  • Chris Cornell was also offered a part, and rejected because he felt "I'm too boyish-looking to butt heads with all these criminal murderer people." Once Cornell watched the movie, he felt some regrets.
  • In the original script, the opening scene was longer, featuring a subplot of Keaton planting a bomb on the ship. It was shot but later left on the cutting floor. Part of it remained with Keaton asking Keyzer, "What time is it?"
  • Jeff Bridges, Johnny Cash, Chris Cornell, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, Charlie Sheen and Walken were all offered the part of Redfoot, the L.A. fence.
  • Michael Biehn was the first choice for McManus and was approached about taking the role, but he had to turn down the part because of his previous commitment to filming Jade which also had Chazz Palminteri. Pauly Shore was also considered.
• Write What You Know: Christopher McQuarrie had previously worked for a detective agency, and this influenced the depiction of criminals and law enforcement officials in the script.

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