Trivia / Orlando: A Biography

• Acting for Two: Heathcote Williams plays two opposing roles, the poet who rejects Orlando's work and the publisher who accepts it.
• Casting Gag: Heathcote Williams, who played poet Nick Greene and also the publisher interested in Orlando's book, is himself a poet.
• Crosscast Role: Queen Elizabeth is played by the openly queer writer, actor, and storyteller Quentin Crisp (who became famous, not unlike Orlando or Woolf, for shocking the public with her flamboyant and gender-bending behavior and dress). At the time of filming, she was not out as trans.
• Real-Life Relative: Orlando's daughter is played by Swinton's niece Jessica.
• Star-Making Role: The title role was the first time Swinton was the lead in a movie, although she'd had major roles in several films by English filmmaker Derek Jarman. After this it was still several years before she became mainstream famous, but it got her noticed in America.