Stories from the set

John Woo was asked to remove the slash from the title (Face/Off), but he rightly decided to keep exactly that title so that viewers would not think the film was about hockey (faceoff is a hockey term meaning a face-off).

The first version of the script unfolded in the near future, but John Woo decided that the film's action would take place in the present, so that viewers' attention would be focused not on perceiving the world of the future, but on the psychological and dramatic moments of the plot.

The name of the prison in English sounds like "Erewhon." This word is the simplest anagram of the word "Nowhere."

When the project was in its infancy, the following names were considered by the producers for the lead roles: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Other actors considered included Harrison Ford and Michael Douglas, Alec Baldwin and Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

As producer Barry Osborne later admitted, many of the action scenes were planned to be shot against a green screen. But John Woo categorically rejected these proposals and resorted to traditional location shooting.

Castor and Pollux are the names of the twin demigod heroes, characters of ancient Greek mythology. However, unlike in John Woo's film, it was Castor who possessed an inquisitive mind, while Pollux, on the contrary, was incredibly strong and agile.

Originally, Nicolas Cage turned down the role of Castor Troy because he did not want to play a villain. However, when he was told that he would actually be playing the hero for most of the film, he immediately agreed.

The scene where Adam listens to "Over the Rainbow" on headphones was John Woo's idea, not part of the script. Paramount Pictures refused to finance the additional scene, and John Woo put his own money into it. It was later recouped, as the film turned out to be profitable.

Nicolas Cage and John Travolta spent two weeks together before filming to learn to play each other. They settled on specific gestures and speech patterns for each character that could be imitated.

The idea for the film came to screenwriter Mike Werb after his friend was in a hang gliding accident. Most of the skin was removed from his face, his bones were set, and then his face was put back on.