Trivia / Glory

• Actor-Shared Background: Morgan Freeman served in the military^note Though in his case it was the Air Force rather than the Army before he became an actor and used his experience as a way to inform how relationships would be formed in the unit.
• Deleted Role:
  • Jane Alexander had a supporting role as Shaw's mother Sarah Blake Sturgis Shaw and was even prominently featured in early trailers. Her role in the final cut was excised almost completely, save for a single scene, and she isn't even listed in the end credits.
  • Cary Elwes has claimed the majority of his scenes were left on the cutting room floor.
• Doing It for the Art: The Civil War reenactors, who took part in the film, did so voluntarily, and without pay — especially since they brought their own authentic costumes and equipment. They did so for Gettysburg as well.
• Enforced Method Acting: Matthew Broderick claimed that the battle scenes did not require much acting since he was genuinely fearful of the extremely loud explosions on-set.
• Fake American: Cary Elwes plays Major Cabot Forbes. Justified as Forbes is a New Englander, about as close to Elwes' English accent as the U.S. will allow.
• Hostility on the Set: Despite their onscreen friendship, director Edward Zwick recalls that Matthew Broderick and Cary Elwes did not get along on set. Possibly related to the fact that most of Cary Elwes shot scenes were not included in released film.
• No Stunt Double: Morgan Freeman did all of his own stunts.
• Playing Against Type: In hindsight, Andre Braugher's role here is vastly against type from his usual characters. He tended to be cast as stoic and authoritative figures, but his character here is a meek and bookish intellectual, albeit still a competent soldier.
• Star-Making Role: For Denzel Washington, at the time best known for St. Elsewhere, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and never looked back.
• Throw It In!: Edward Zwick claimed that, for the flogging scene, Denzel Washington was lashed at full contact, with a special whip, that would not cut his back, but still stung. For the final take of the scene, Zwick hesitated calling "Cut!" to signal the flogging to stop, and the result was Washington's spontaneous tear down his cheek.
  • During the scene where Colonel Shaw, finally fed up with the quartermaster, decides to trash his supplies Matthew Broderick misspeaks. He first asks for supplies for six-hundred soldiers and then says seven-hundred about a minute later. Broderick actually pauses for a few seconds after the latter, clearly expecting to be told "Cut!" because he's flubbed the line, but the scene keeps going. Zwick kept this blooper in the film, possibly because it was the best take they could get out of Broderick, and also because it took a very long time to set the scene up given Broderick had to trash everything around him in each take.

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