Trivia / Carlito's Way

• Actor-Inspired Element/Dyeing for Your Art:
  • It was Sean Penn's idea to shave a receding hairline into Kleinfeld's head.
  • It was Al Pacino's idea for Carlito to have a beard.
• Cast the Expert: Frank Minucci really used to be a mobster before becoming a Born-Again Christian. Hence why he's so convincing as Tony Taglialucci.
• Fake Nationality:
  • The Italian-American Al Pacino is once again playing a (Mestizo) Hispanic gangster. A small lampshade is hung on this late in the movie, when one of Vinnie's mobsters who was familiar with Carlito regales his buddies with how he used to be convinced that Carlito was Italian.
  • Likewise, Danish-American Viggo Mortensen plays a Hispanic gangster.
  • Iranian-American Adrian Pasdar plays the Italian-American Frankie Taglialucci.
• Harpo Does Something Funny: John Leguizamo improvised many of his lines. He actually turned down the role four times and only accepted when he was allowed to ad-lib.
• Hey, It's That Place!: The exterior of the hospital where Carlito visits his bedridden attorney is the same one where Vito Corleone is taken in The Godfather.
• Hostility on the Set: John Leguizamo revealed in his autobiography that he and Penelope Ann Miller did not get along during filming. He claims he got revenge on her by having the wardrobe department take in her clothes an inch at a time causing Miller to go on a crash diet.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Carlito mentions in his mocking speech upon his release that he's "born again". Frank Minucci (Tony T.), a Born-Again Christian, used to be a gangster.
• One for the Money; One for the Art: Sean Penn took the role of David Kleinfeld just for the money so he could use it to fund his second film The Crossing Guard.
• Production Posse: Brian De Palma reused several actors from Scarface (1983): Al Pacino, Al Israel, Ángel Salazar, Jorge Porcel, Michael P. Moran, and Caesar Cordova.
• Referenced by...: Carlito's line "Here comes the pain!" was sampled in Slipknot's song "(sic)".
• Romance on the Set: Al Pacino and Penelope Ann Miller became romantically involved during filming. Miller spoke publicly about their romance in interviews. But Pacino was in a relationship with Lyndall Hobbs at the time. Pacino attended the film's premiere with Hobbs and avoided Miller entirely.
• Wag the Director: According to Brian De Palma, Sean Penn demanded 30 takes of the shot of Kleinfeld asking Carlito to help him with Tony T's escape. When De Palma wanted to move on to the next shot, Penn screamed at De Palma. He continued to yell at De Palma on the ride back to New York City. He later called De Palma on the phone to continue yelling at him. De Palma said that was the only argument they had on the film.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Al Pacino first envisioned Carlito with a ponytail, but after his visits to Harlem, he quickly realized the guys there were not into wearing their hair that way.
  • Pachanga's lines were originally written in phonetically spelled, heavily accented slang. But some of the crew members of Latino descent were offended by this. David Koepp rewrote Pachanga's lines in standard English and Luis Guzmán was directed to speak with a heavy accent and improvise some slang.
  • Charlie Sheen and John Turturro were considered for David Kleinfeld. At an early stage, Marlon Brando was to play the role.
  • Brian De Palma wanted to shoot the climax of the film at the World Trade Center in New York but it was the target of a bombing, and he had to shoot it in "another railway station again." (De Palma's The Untouchables also featured a scene at a railway station.)
  • Abel Ferrara was considered to direct.
• You Look Familiar: The actors portraying Pachanga, Valentin (Norwalk's detective partner) and Rudy (the waiter at Carlito's club) have other roles in the 2005 prequel. Luis Guzmán's role is most prominent and he plays a similar character, a gruff assassin named Nacho.

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