Trivia / The Three Musketeers (1993)

• Acting for Two: Paul McGann pulls double duty as Girard, the man who feels D'Artagnan dishonored his sister, and Jussac, one of the Cardinal's henchmen.
• Actor-Shared Background: Much like Girard, Paul McGann has quite a lot of brothers.
• Breakaway Pop Hit: "All for Love" by Bryan Adams, Sting and Rod Stewart.
• California Doubling:
  • Vienna and the countryside around it doubles for Paris and the French countryside. It is somewhat jarring for a native to see Fleur de Lis in imperial Austrian buildings, or neo-gothic profane buildings being used as gothic cathedral stand-ins.
  • Some sequences were shot in Cornwall. A small woods called Golitha Falls was used in one sequence when the musketeers are being pursued by guards. The small harbour village of Charlestown is home to the galleon that was used in a night-shoot. Scenes were also shot on Pentire Head, Boconnoc Estate, Doyden Castle and in the grounds at Llanhydrock House
• Cast the Expert: Veteran swordmaster Bob Anderson cameos as the King's fencing instructor.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Charlie Sheen was originally offered the role of Porthos, but prefered Aramis, a role originally meant for Cary Elwes, who appeared in a pre-production interview from New York's Planet Hollywood with Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland that was broadcast on the E! Network.
• The Cast Showoff: Paul McGann and Michael Wincott are both skilled fencers, while Kiefer Sutherland is a skilled equestrian.
• Dyeing for Your Art: The cast all went through extensive fencing and horse-riding training prior to production. The only exception was Charlie Sheen, who was unavailable because he was busy with Hot Shots! Part Deux.
• Fake Nationality: None of the cast (with the exception of Julie Delpy) are actually French.
• Follow the Leader: This movie was made only two years after Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and some similarities can be drawn. A lot of Artistic License is taken with the source material and history, and there is the same updated-for-the-90s sensibility. Tim Curry subs in for Alan Rickman for resident hilarious hammy baddie, and Michael Wincott (formerly Guy of Gisbourne) returns as the top henchman. Finally, Bryan Adams is back for the Award-Bait Song (co-written by Michael Kamen, who scored both movies).
• Hide Your Pregnancy: Gabrielle Anwar was pregnant during filming and had to have her costumes let out.
• Reality Subtext: Athos is said to take his drinking very seriously (as in the book). This is ironic, as Kiefer Sutherland had previously been arrested for drunk driving.
• What Could Have Been:
  • After Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was a huge box office hit for Warner Bros., Hollywood sought to replicate its success with more period adventure movies. Disney, Tristar Pictures and Columbia Pictures all tried to get a Three Musketeers movie going at the same time. Disney won the race by being the first to secure lead actors, Kiefer Sutherland and Charlie Sheen. Columbia never got past the script stage, while Tristar had a director attached and was courting William Baldwin, Johnny Depp, Gary Oldman, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Cary Elwes, Al Pacino and Oliver Platt (Porthos in the Disney film) before cancelling the project. Brad Pitt was approached by all sides, reportedly as D'Artagnan for the Disney film, but passed. The unfilmed Three Musketeers scripts are said to be "darker". More details here.
  • Stephen Dorff turned down the role of D'Artagnan.
  • Winona Ryder was considered for Countess Milady d'Winter.

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