Trivia / Born on the Fourth of July

• Actor-Inspired Element: The real Ron Kovic appears as a World War II veteran who flinches at the sound of firecrackers. Cruise adopted this in his portrayal of Kovic.
• Billing Displacement: Despite second billing, Willem Dafoe doesn't appear until 1 hour and 36 minutes into the movie.
• California Doubling:
  • Like Apocalypse Now and Platoon, scenes in Vietnam were actually shot in the Philippines due to the political climate.
  • The scenes taking place in Ron Kovic's hometown of Massapequa, New York were shot in Dallas, Texas.
• Deleted Role: Macaulay Culkin had a small role as a kid, but was cut out of the film.
• Distanced from Current Events: The movie was set to make its broadcast debut on CBS in 1991, however, due to the Gulf War, the premiere was delayed until the following year.
• Executive Veto: Stone proposed having Tom Cruise injected with a drug to temporarily paralyse him for two days, to more realistically portray the difficulties of someone in a wheelchair. The insurance company immediately refused due to possibility of permanent damage.
• In Memoriam: The film's end credits include a dedication to political activist Abbie Hoffman who died of a drug overdose nine months before the movie was released.
• The Merch: Deconstructed, as the film ended up inspiring unofficial merchandise in the form of "Ron Kovic" Halloween costumes and an unofficial (in terms of not getting the license for the actor's appearance) adult collectible 1/6th scale action figure of Tom Berenger from the film, as Berenger has a single scene in the film where he gives a recruitment speech for the Marines in dress blues at the start of the film.
• Real-Life Relative:
  • Three Baldwin brothers are in the film, William Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin and Stephen Baldwin. They do not share any screen time.
  • Oliver Stone's son Sean plays Ron Kovic's brother Jimmy as a child.
  • Tom Cruise's actual cousin William Mapother ^note Tom Cruise's full name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV plays a soldier in Ron Kovac's platoon.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Charlie Sheen was the first choice to play Kovic before being replaced by Tom Cruise. Sheen would later play a comical version of Cruise in the 1991 Top Gun spoof, Hot Shots! and its sequel, Hot Shots! Part Deux.
  • Nicolas Cage and Sean Penn were considered for the role of Ron Kovic.
  • Al Pacino turned down the role of Kovic's father. Some years earlier another version was proposed with Pacino as Kovic with William Friedkin directing.

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