When writer of the original novel S.E. Hinton met Matt Dillon (Tex) for the first time, he said in his thick New York accent, "Yo, S.E., I thought you was a man!" Hinton recalls initially being nervous about a city kid playing the character of a country cowboy. Now, Hinton states that she believes this was one of Dillon's best performances. Dillon went on to star in two more film adaptions of Hinton's novels, Los rebeldes (1983) and La ley de la calle (1983).
The movie is set about ten years after the end of the novel "That Was Then, This is Now." Two characters make appearances in Tex (1982), which are Cathy Carlson as Tex's English teacher and the hitchhiker, who is Mark in disguise, escaped from prison.
Although the film was produced by Disney, the opening credits does not include any reference to the company. However, the first text that appears in the end credits reads: "Presented by Walt Disney Productions."
S.E. Hinton: The typing teacher. Reflecting on her screen debut years later, she said, "I was supposed to look terrified, which was lucky, because I was."