Stories from the set

The film's title plays on "The Negro Motorist Green Book" — an annual guide published between 1936 and 1966. Its publication period coincided with the era of Jim Crow laws (the unofficial name for racial segregation laws in some states between 1890 and 1964), when discrimination against people with colored skin became legally widespread in society. The "Green Book" allowed non-white travelers to find lodging, services, and gas stations they could use.

The prototype of Viggo Mortensen's character is Tony Lip.

Instead of Mahershala Ali, the composer Kris Bowers played the piano in the film.

The film is dedicated to a crow nicknamed Larry, found near the film set. The bird was hit by a car, and Viggo Mortensen took care of it.

While gaining weight for the film, Viggo Mortensen switched to Italian cuisine. As the actor himself said, "I often ate pizza. The most important thing, however, is not to refuse seconds. It was also important to be sure to try all the desserts. Well, and of course, you had to eat right before going to bed."

In the scene with Gorman, Viggo Mortensen actually ate hot dogs. He was given a bucket to spit out unswallowed pieces between takes, but the actor found this even less "palatable" than the sausages in buns themselves. In total, Mortensen ate 15 of them.

Costume designer Betsy Heimann picked out rather tight suits for Viggo Mortensen (the idea being that he had bought them many years ago, had stopped watching his figure since then, and never had enough money to buy new suits). She also explained to the actor that in those years trousers were customarily raised to waist level rather than worn on the hips.

The film was shot in Louisiana, yet the blizzard scene in it shows real snow. Having once seen snowflakes swirling in the air during a break, Viggo Mortensen persuaded Peter Farrelly and the crew to go shoot some footage. They agreed, went outside, and after some time were very surprised that the snow just kept falling and falling. A lot of material was shot during this unplanned time, but afterward the crew did not have to travel to Minnesota to shoot snow.

When Don first gets into the car, a poster appears in frame advertising a folk music concert at Carnegie Hall on November 10, 1962. The headliner at the concert was Pete Seeger (1919-2014). This was Bob Dylan's first performance at Carnegie Hall.

Chris Bowers, who stood in for Mahershala Ali on camera at the piano, has been involved with music since the age of 4, but "Green Book" became the first film for which he wrote music. Like the character played by Ali, Bowers plays only on a handcrafted Steinway piano, because "no other instruments produce a genuine sound."