History Trivia / MichaelCollins

** American Creator/JuliaRoberts as Kitty Kiernan, British Creator/IanHart as Joe O'Reilly, American Creator/AidanQuinn as Harry Boland. Though Quinn could be considered a subversion as his parents are both from Ireland, making him a dual citizen, and he spent parts of his childhood in Dublin and Offaly.

* ProductionPosse: Neil Jordan regular Creator/StephenRea - who he worked with in ''Film/TheCompanyOfWolves'', ''Film/TheCryingGame'', and ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'' - plays Ned Broy.

** Creator/MichaelCimino was attached to direct the film for a while, and Creator/GabrielByrne was his choice for the lead.

* SameContentDifferentRating: Due to the film's historial significance, the Irish film board gave the film a PG rating despite its violet content. The video release was given a 12 rating (the UK/Irish equivalent to PG-13).

** Creator/JuliaRoberts as Kitty Kiernan, Creator/IanHart as Joe O'Reilly, Creator/AidanQuinn as Harry Boland. Though Quinn could be considered a subversion as his parents are from Ireland, making him a dual citizen, and he spent parts of his childhood in Dublin and Offaly.

** Creator/JuliaRoberts as Kitty Kiernan, Creator/IanHart as Joe O'Reilly, Creator/AidanQuinn as Harry Boland.

* CoolCar: Collins' official state car had been a yellow Leyland Eight. Out of which just 18 were made and none survived in original form, only one is still extant, assembled from spares in 1929 with a short chassis and roadster bodywork. So the car got played in the film by another gem from TheRoaringTwenties, a Lanchester 40.
* DawsonCasting: Liam Neeson was in his forties playing Michael Collins from his late twenties to early thirties.

** Julia Roberts as Kitty Kiernan, Ian Hart as Joe O'Reilly, Aidan Quinn as Harry Boland.
** Alan Rickman as Éamon De Valera is a curious case. He was half-Irish, half-Spanish and born in New York City. WordOfGod even said that the character was better played by a non-Irish actor to get a more rounded performance.
** Liam Neeson is also Northern Irish, playing the Cork native Michael Collins.
* ProductionPosse: Neil Jordan regular Stephen Rea - who he worked with in ''Film/TheCompanyOfWolves'', ''Film/TheCryingGame'', and ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'' - plays Ned Broy.

** Michael Cimino was attached to direct the film for a while, and Gabriel Byrne was his choice for the lead.
** Mary Louise Parker was on the verge of signing on to play Kitty when Neil Jordan heard that Julia Roberts was interested in the role.
** The film had been tossed around since the 60s, with Richard Harris expressing interest in playing Michael Collins in a biopic. Robert Redford was also briefly inspired to do the film in the 80s and went to Dublin to research for it. Kevin Costner had likewise been interested.
** The film was going to be released with a 15 rating in Ireland. But the censors decided to release it with a PG, despite the violence, for its historical significance.

** Alan Rickman as Eamon De Valera is a curious case. He was half-Irish, half-Spanish and born in New York City. WordOfGod even said that the character was better played by a non-Irish actor to get a more rounded performance.

* TooSoon: During filming, the IRA ceasefire ended when a bomb was exploded in London's Canary Wharf. As a result, the ending was re-shot to focus more on the love story between Michael Collins and Kitty Kiernan - and downplay the breakdown of Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations.

** Alan Rickman as Eamon De Valera is a curious case. He was half-Irish, half-Spanish and born in New Jersey. WordOfGod even said that the character was better played by a non-Irish actor to get a more rounded performance.

* CastingGag: Brendan Gleeson plays Liam Tobin. He had played Michael Collins himself in a film called ''The Treaty''.

* RealLifeRelative: Aengus O'Malley, great-grandson of the real Michael Collins, plays a student in the scene at Marsh library.

* FakeIrish - Alan Rickman, Ian Hart and Julia Roberts. Aidan Quinn also had to Irish it up a bit due to having a far more Americanised accent.
** Justified, in Rickman's case- the director felt that, so deeply ingrained is the popular image of Éamon de Valera in the Irish national consciousness, it was necessary that he be played by a non-Irishman who lacked such preconceptions and would be able to play the role as a three-dimensional character, rather than a two-dimensional caricature. Dev was also so ethnically diverse (a Spanish Cuban father, born in New York City) that his Irishness isn't really important from a casting point of view. And it certainly didn't hurt that Rickman was an astonishingly close likeness for de Valera, too.

** Justified, in Rickman's case- the director felt that, so deeply ingrained is the popular image of Éamon de Valera in the Irish national consciousness, it was necessary that he be played by a non-Irishman who lacked such preconceptions and would be able to play the role as a three-dimensional character, rather than a two-dimensional caricature. Dev was also so ethnically diverse (a Spanish Cuban father, born in New York City) that his Irishness isn't really important from a casting point of view.
** Rickman also bears an astonishing likeness to de Valera, which helps.

* FakeIrish - Alan Rickman and Julia Roberts. Aidan Quinn also had to Irish it up a bit due to having a far more Americanised accent.

* FakeIrish - Alan Rickman and Julia Roberts. Aiden Quinn also had to Irish it up a bit due to having a far more Americanised accent.

** Justified, in Rickman's case- the director felt that, so deeply ingrained is the popular image of Éamon de Valera in the Irish national consciousness, it was necessary that he be played by a non-Irishman who lacked such preconceptions and would be able to play the role as a three-dimensional character, rather than a two-dimensional caricature. Dev was also so ethnically diverse (Cuban blood, born in New York) that his Irishness isn't really important from a casting point of view.