Line #4 Trivia/TheBirdcage


1	* CastTheExpert: The rabbi co-officiating Val and Barbara's wedding is a real rabbi.
2	* CastTheRunnerUp:
3	** Before he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, Creator/SteveMartin was set to play Armand, with Creator/RobinWilliams as Albert. This is also partly due to Williams ''asking'' to play Armand instead, as he felt the StraightMan character (no pun intended) would provide more of a challenge.
4	** Creator/HankAzaria originally only read for a small role, as Creator/DavidAlanGrier was sought to play Armand and Albert's housekeeper. The filmmakers later felt that white employers of a black domestic wouldn't sit too well with 90's audiences. So the character was made Hispanic (which, despite still being stereotypical, is generally considered less controversial) and Azaria was upgraded to play Agador after some hilarious table reads.
5	* CelebrityVoiceActor: In the Japanese dub, Albert is voiced by the dancer Norio Imamura, better known by many anime fans as the first voice of [[Manga/OnePiece Emporio Ivankov]], before being replaced due to a scandal.
6	* DawsonCasting: Two [[QuestionableCasting rather baffling]] examples — so much so that we are constantly reminded that Barbara is “only 18”, as if to reinforce the contrivance.
7	** 32-year-old Calista Flockhart unconvincingly plays a 18-year-old. (Being so waifish, she could maybe pass as a senior or graduate student, but come on.)
8	** 27-year-old Dan Futterman isn't much better as the 20 year old Val.
9	* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny: Due to the nature of the story, Mike Nichols made Nathan Lane and Creator/RobinWilliams ''promise'' to do one take exactly as scripted before they could go wild in retakes. This is bound to happen.
10	* PlayingAgainstType
11	** One of Creator/RobinWilliams' few comedic roles as the (no pun intended) StraightMan. In fact, he was originally cast as Albert before he asked to switch roles with Nathan Lane in fear of typecasting. It was also generally agreed that having him play a character who's DisguisedInDrag would come across too much like the filmmakers were trying to recreate ''Film/MrsDoubtfire''.
12	** Inversely, this was one of Nathan Lane's only roles where he's ''not'' the StraightMan (again, no pun intended, as he ''is'' the only main actor in the film who's actually gay) or a DeadpanSnarker. In fact, it's his only cinematic role where he actually ''plays'' a gay character!
13	* QueerCharacterQueerActor: A retroactive case; Creator/NathanLane is openly gay like his character in the film, but he didn't come out until 1999, three years after the film's release.
14	* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: A remake of ''Theatre/{{La Cage aux Folles}}'' was originally planned in the mid-80's, with Creator/FrankSinatra and Creator/DudleyMoore suggested for the lead roles. Sinatra was game, but Moore decided against it, causing the project to be in limbo until the mid-90's.
15	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting: Dan Futterman could, at moments, resemble a young Robin Williams making Val being Armand's biological son all the more believable.
16	* StarMakingRole: Prior to this movie, Creator/NathanLane's only other recognizable movie role was as [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 the voice of Timon]] while the rest of his career was (and, for the most part, still is) relegated to Broadway[[note]]When relating a confrontation with the notorious Harvey Weinstein, he joked that Weinstein couldn't threaten to end his movie career because he already barely had one to speak of[[/note]]. He earned a modest live-action film career after this movie allowed audiences to match the voice to his face. A year later, he'd star in ''Film/MouseHunt''.
17	* TechnologyMarchesOn: It's a fairly major plot point that while a character can dial out from her car phone, she can't ''receive'' calls on it. Thus while she can call out for her messages, and then call the protagonists, they can't call her back to say that plans have changed yet again.
18	* ThrowItIn
19	** Reportedly, this happened between Creator/NathanLane and Creator/RobinWilliams quite a bit. They did it so often that they were forced to promise that they would do one take exactly as the script said before they were allowed to ad-lib anymore.
20	** Robin Williams' pratfall in the kitchen was entirely accidental, but the other actors [[{{Corpsing}} held it together]] enough to use the take.
21	** Creator/MikeNichols added "...but you keep it all inside" to the end of Armand's "eccentric celebration of dance."
22	* UnderageCasting: Armand is at least 50 even though Robin Williams turned 45 in 1996.
23	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
24	** Creator/JimCarrey and Creator/BillyCrystal were considered for Armand.
25	** Creator/DianeKeaton was the first choice for the role of Louise Keeley but she felt the role was too similar to that of her character Nina Banks in ''Film/FatherOfTheBride1991'', so she declined the role.

Context Trivia / TheBirdcage