Trivia / Higher Learning

• Actor-Shared Background:
  • Kristy Swanson had many things in common with her character, Kristen. As well as sharing the same name, both came from Orange County, California. Swanson was born and raised in Mission Viejo, CA.
  • Jewish actor Adam Goldberg played Jewish student David.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Originally, John Singleton wanted Leonardo DiCaprio to play Remy, while Michael Rapaport was originally going to play Scott Moss. DiCaprio was cast, but unable to be in the film because of a scheduling conflict with The Quick and the Dead. So Singleton had Rappaport play Remy once Cole Hauser was cast.
• The Danza: Kristy Swanson's real first name is, in fact, "Kristen."
• Dawson Casting:
  • Almost all of the actors were in their early to mid twenties playing college students. Michael Rapaport, Kristy Swanson, Ice Cube, Adam Goldberg, Regina King and Jennifer Connelly were all twenty-five and Tyra Banks, Omar Epps and Busta Rhymes were all twenty-two.
  • It is explicitly stated that Fudge has been in school for six years, so Ice Cube isn't actually that far off.
• Fake Nationality: Lawrence Fishburne plays a very convincing Trinidadian in Professor Phipps. His nationality is significant, because Trinidad is a very literate country with high standards of education (often reflected in the lyrics of its story-oriented calypso music). Phipps states to Malik that he experienced racism when he arrived in the US to study, but his reaction was to channel his anger into working hard and achieving, thus resulting in his status as university professor.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Most of the Neo-Nazi skinheads were played by Jewish actors-Michael Rapaport (Remy) included.
• Romance on the Set: Tyra Banks and John Singleton were in a relationship at the time the film was made.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Drew Barrymore was almost cast as Kristen, but appeared in Boys on the Side, Mad Love (1995), and Batman Forever instead.
  • John Singleton originally wanted Gwyneth Paltrow to play Kristen and Juliette Lewis to play Taryn, but neither was available.
  • Tupac Shakur was originally set to play Malik but he was jailed shortly after getting the part and the role went instead to Omar Epps.
  • Singleton wanted Sidney Poitier to play Prof. Maurice Phipps, but he was not available. Singleton's second choice was Samuel L. Jackson; the studio preferred Laurence Fishburne. Dustin Hoffman was originally considered for the role, but he wanted the plot to revolve around the professor and the student, but Singleton didn't want that, so Hoffman wasn't cast.
  • Vivica A. Fox was considered for the role of Deja.
• Write What You Know: According to John Singleton, the film is based on his college experiences while attending USC. Singleton says in the DVD commentary that the scene in which Remy walks up to Malik and voices his opinion about the T-shirt that he was wearing is based on an actual incident that happened to him in which he too became enraged and wanted to beat the hell out of the guy.

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