History Trivia / TheHitcher

* {{Typecasting}}: The minor roles of police officers Jack Donner and Lyle Hancock are just are each one of many other policeman roles in film and television for veteran character actors Billy Green Bush and Henry Darrow.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Executives tried to have [[spoiler:the death of Nash softened and toned down. One executive even tried getting the scene excised and another suggested softening it by following it with a funeral scene]]. The director and producer stood their ground and the scene was kept in but not shot graphically.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Character actor Gene Davis plays a a fully-clothed blue denim clad police officer who gets killed by a SerialKiller. Three years earlier, Davis inversely plays a [[FullFrontalAssault fully-unclothed]] SerialKiller who gets killed by a police officer played by Creator/CharlesBronson in another crime thriller ''10 to Midnight''.

* {{Typcasting}}: The minor roles of police officers Jack Donner and Lyle Hancock are just are each one of many other policeman roles in film and television for veteran character actors Billy Green Bush and Henry Darrow.

* ChannelHop: Fox was to have distributed the film before Creator/TriStarPictures took over.

** For the role of Jim Halsey, the producers mentioned Creator/TomCruise, Creator/MatthewModine and Creator/CharlieSheen.

** For the role of Jim Halsey, the producers mentioned Matthew Modine, Creator/TomCruise, Emilio Estevez and Creator/CharlieSheen.

** Fox was to have distributed the film before Creator/TriStarPictures took over.

** At one point, Eric Red wanted John Ryder to have an electronic voicebox.

** Fox was to have distributed the film before TriStarPictures took over.

* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh agreed to do the film because she wanted to work with Hauer again (they co-starred in ''Film/FleshAndBlood'') and loved the character of Nash because "there was a real person there".

* EnforcedMethodActing: C. Thomas Howell admitted that he was actually afraid of Creator/RutgerHauer on and off the set because of the actor's general intensity.

* RevisedEnding: [[spoiler:The film originally ended with Jim Halsey shooting John Ryder as Ryder lay prone on the highway. However, to avoid an X rating, the filmmakers shot the ending that was ultimately used (with Ryder getting to his feet, showing he is still a threat, and giving Jim at least partial justification for shooting him)]].

* CreatorCameo: Eric Red can be seen in a cameo role toward the end of the film as a sheriff's deputy escorting the prisoner to the transfer bus.

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Quark]] is an interviewing officer during an interrogation.

* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh agreed to do the film because she wanted to work with Hauer again (they co-starred in ''Film/Flesh+Blood'') and loved the character of Nash because "there was a real person there".

* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh agreed to do the film because she wanted to work with Hauer again (they co-starred in Flesh + Blood) and loved the character of Nash because "there was a real person there".

** Ryder was written with Music/KeithRichards in mind. The director's personal choice for Ryder was Creator/TerenceStamp while Creator/SamElliott had the best audition and almost got the part (a salary dispute led him not to be cast). Music/DavidBowie and Music/{{Sting}} were also considered.

-->"Give the credit where it’s due. But I disown the picture."
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original script ran the film equivalent of three hours, had more of a FilmNoir vibe and was filled with {{Gorn}}. Moments that ended up not being filmed include: Ryder slaughtering an entire family, an eyeball appearing in a hamburger (this was replaced in a finger in a plate of French fries), a graphic sex scene between 'Gal' Galveston (the girl before Nash) and Jim, and a character being decapitated. The film underwent several rewrites which removed the gorier moments. Also, Fox was to have distributed the film before TriStarPictures took over.

* HeyItsThatGuy:
** [[Series/{{JAG}} AJ Chegwidden]] was a police sergeant named Starr.
** Creator/ArminShimerman ([[HeyItsThatVoice aka]] [[Franchise/{{Bioshock}} Andrew Ryan]], TheOtherDarrin for [[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Dr.]] [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Milo]], [[WesternAnimation/RegularShow Buttonwillow McButtonwillow]] and [[WesternAnimation/EvilConCarne General]] [[WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy Skarr]]) interrogate John Ryder.
** Gene Davis, aka Warren Stacy (the naked SerialKiller from the Creator/CharlesBronson crime thriller ''10 to Midnight''), ironically plays a blue denim clad police officer named Trooper Dodge.
** [[Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday Before dealing with Jason Voorhees, Sheriff Landis]] (under the name Trooper Jack Donner) had to deal with another AxCrazy SerialKiller John Ryder.
** TheOtherDarrin for [[Franchise/{{Zorro}} Don Alejandro de la Vega]] was a {{vigilante}} {{rabid cop}} named Lyle Hancock.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original script ran the film equivalent of three hours and was filled with {{Gorn}}. Moments that ended up not being filmed include: Ryder slaughtering an entire family, an eyeball appearing in a hamburger (this was replaced in a finger in a plate of French fries), a graphic sex scene between 'Gal' Galveston (the girl before Nash) and Jim, and a character being decapitated. The film underwent several rewrites which removed the gorier moments. Also, Fox was to have distributed the film before TriStarPictures took over.

** Creator/ArminShimerman ([[HeyItsThatVoice aka]] [[Franchise/{{Bioshock}} Andrew Ryan]], TheOtherDarrin for [[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Dr. Milo]] and [[WesternAnimation/EvilConCarne General]] [[WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy Skarr]]) interrogate John Ryder.

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[Series/{{JAG}} AJ Chegwidden]] was a police sergeant.

** Ryder was written with Music/KeithRichards in mind. The director's personal choice for Ryder was Creator/TerenceStamp while Creator/SamElliott had the best audition and almost got the part (a salary dispute led him not to be cast). Music/DavidBowie and Music/{{Sting}} were also considered.

** Ryder was written with Creator/KeithRichards in mind. The director's personal choice for Ryder was Creator/TerenceStamp while Creator/SamElliott had the best audition and almost got the part (a salary dispute led him not to be cast). Music/DavidBowie and Music/{{Sting}} were also considered.

** Ryder was written with KeithRichards in mind. The director's personal choice for Ryder was TerenceStamp while SamElliott had the best audition and almost got the part (a salary dispute led him not to be cast). DavidBowie and {{Sting}} were also considered

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original script ran the film equivalent of three hours and was filled with {{Gorn}}. Moments that ended up not being filmed include: Ryder slaughtering an entire family, an eyeball appearing in a hamburger (this was replaced in a finger in a plate of French fries) and a character being decapitated. The film underwent several rewrites which removed the gorier moments. Also, Fox was to have distributed the film before TriStarPictures took over.