Trivia / Trainspotting

• Ability over Appearance: Begbie of the book is a tall intimidating, bulky brute. Robert Carlyle is much more slender, but captures the Hair-Trigger Temper perfectly.
• Acting for Two: Stuart McQuarrie plays two unrelated characters in the film: the US Tourist who is beaten up by Begbie in the pub toilet; and Gavin, a friend of the main characters who talks to Renton at Tommy's funeral.
• Approval of God: Irvine Welsh enjoyed the stage play to the point it made him realize the book would work as a movie.
• Breakthrough Hit:
  • It got the ball rolling for Danny Boyle, but his follow-ups The Beach and A Life Less Ordinary were flops. It wasn't until 28 Days Later that his career was solidified.
  • The novel put Irvine Welsh on the map.
  • It was also this for the British film industry in general, which had been struggling for the previous decade following the massive critical and commercial failure of Revolution (1985). It did the important job of winning back American audiences, with The Full Monty cementing the UK industry's comeback a year later.
• California Doubling: Although set in Edinburgh, most interiors, and some of the exteriors, were shot in Glasgow. A notable exception is the chase down Princes Street.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Ewen Bremner had previously played Renton in a stage adaptation of the novel.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Irvine Welsh is somewhat embarrassed by his first novel.
  • Kind of with Kelly Macdonald and the nudity. She prefers not to do it now, using a body double for any sex scenes (such as Line of Duty), and it was awkward for her when her mother and brother turned up on set that day (although the closed set meant they didn't see it). But she describes Ewan McGregor as talking her through it, and making her feel comfortable.
• Creator-Chosen Casting: Right from the start, Ewan McGregor was the first choice for Renton.
• Darkhorse Casting: For the role of Diane, Danny Boyle wanted an actress with no previous experience "so no-one would twig that a 19-year-old was playing the part" of am adolescent. The filmmakers sent flyers to nightclubs and boutiques and even approached people on the street, eventually hiring Kelly Macdonald.
• Dawson Casting: Just about. Kelly Macdonald was nineteen when she shot the film, playing a school girl. This one is justified, since Diane is meant to be able to pass for older. And the lengthy sex scene, complete with nudity, would require an older actress by default.
• Deleted Scene: The DVD contains several that can be spliced in to the film:
  • Renton and Sick Boy have an extended quiz about James Bond movies.
  • Renton's job interview, in which he explains his heroin addiction in order not to get the job.
  • A longer part of Spud's job interview.
  • Diane catching Renton, Spud, and Sick Boy while shoplifting.
  • Renton meeting Swanney in the hospital after he's lost his leg.
  • Sick Boy and Renton sit in a park, discussing Tommy's sickness and Sick Boy has a monologue about his view of the world.
  • Spud and Tommy sit on a street and discuss their fantasy of going to Australia.
  • At a football game, Renton tells Diane about the trip to London and she reveals that she has a boyfriend.
  • Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud, and Renton at the bus station before leaving for London. Renton gives money to a one-legged Falklands War veteran who turns out to be Swanney and Begbie berates Sick Boy for carousing with two of his hookers.
• Dueling Dubs: It's been confirmed that in Latin America the movie has been dubbed three times:
  • The first dub was commissioned by Disney Character Voices and recorded in Mexico on the studio "Made in Spanish" in 1996 with José Arenas as the the voice Mark Renton. This dub was completly lost until 2021 when it was added to Pluto TV USA.
  • The second dub was recorded in Chile on the studio "Technoworks" around the same time the first Mexican dub was recorded and it featured Pablo Ausensi as the voice of Mark Renton. This dub was completely unknown until 2020 when a Youtube user uploaded a small clip recorded from the local TV channel "Chilevision". This dub hasn't been found yet.
  • The third dub was also recorded in Mexico on the studio "Made in Spanish". This dub was recorded around 2010-2011 with Arturo Cataño as the voice of Mark Renton and it is the most common of the three since this is the one used for TV broadcast, home video releases and streaming sites on the region. Oddly enought, Rolando de Castro worked on both Mexican dubs but as different characters.
• Dyeing for Your Art:
  • Ewan McGregor shaved his head and lost two stone (28 lbs or 13 kg) to convincingly play a heroin addict. He even considered injecting himself with heroin to better understand it, but decided against it.
  • Jonny Lee Miller bleached his hair blond. This is particularly odd because Sick Boy is dark-haired in the book, as Miller is in real life.
• Executive Meddling: The American release ordered the sex scene between Renton and Diane trimmed because Diane appeared to be "enjoying it too much", and she was a schoolgirl. Nearly all the releases from the mid 90s on have the sex scene intact.
• Fake Scot: Jonny Lee Miller, who is English, is the only cast member not from Scotland.
• Funny Character, Boring Actor: Diane is an outspoken, charismatic teenager who's Wise Beyond Her Years. Kelly Macdonald described herself as incredibly shy, to the point where she'd spend more time alone in the bathroom than hanging with her co-stars.
• Making Use of the Twin: Baby Dawn was played by a pair of identical twins.
• Never Work with Children or Animals: Baby Dawn had to be re-cast as the original child cried too much when left on set.
• No Budget: The film's budget was very low - £1.5 million - requiring many scenes to be shot with just one take.
• One-Take Wonder: Due to the skimpy budget, most scenes had to be shot in just one take.
• Real-Life Relative: Keith and Kevin Allen play the London dealers.
• Romance on the Set: Costume designer Rachael Fleming later married producer Andrew Macdonald. They have five children together.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: Blondie wouldn't allow "Atomic" to be used in the film, so a cover version by Sleeper was used instead.
• Shrug of God: Robert Carlyle believes that Begbie is actually an Armored Closet Gay and his outbursts are due to his fear of being outed. Irvine Welsh later said he wrote Begbie to have an ambiguous sexuality.
• Star-Making Role: Ewan McGregor's career really took off after appearing in this film. The other actors in the film did quite well out of it too, with the result that they were nicknamed the 'Jock Pack'^note Like the Brat Pack of the 80s, 'jock' being a slang term for a Scottish person.
• Technology Marches On: The "Choose Life" speech mentions compact disc players and electrical tin openers.
• Uncredited Role: Stuart McGugan as a taxi driver.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Christopher Eccleston was the first choice for Begbie. He turned it down, thinking it was too cliche to cast a northener as the most violent role. He even wrote Danny Boyle to say that he should play Renton instead. Daniel Craig was also reportedly considered.
  • Oasis were asked to contribute to the soundtrack, but Noel Gallagher declined, because he thought the film was literally about trainspotters.
  • Boyle wanted "Golden Years" by David Bowie for the toilet scene.
• Word of Gay: Robert Carlyle and Danny Boyle say Begbie is secretly gay and in love with Renton. Irvine Welsh supports this suggestion.
• Write What You Know: The film's screenwriter John Hodge was previously a doctor, and had to deal with recovering heroin addicts. Some of his experiences made it into the film - such as when the junkies steal a TV from a retirement home.
• You Look Familiar: Danny Boyle implied that this movie was set in the same universe as Shallow Grave with Keith Allen playing the same character in both. Renton's actor Ewan McGregor, however, played Alex in that movie.

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