Writer and director Jim Sheridan described Richard Harris "as mad as a brush", and that he found him very difficult to control.
Ray McAnally was originally cast as "The Bull", but his sudden death forced writer and director Jim Sheridan to re-cast his leading man. Richard Harris was considered for the role of the Priest, and persuaded Sheridan to trust him in the lead role. Harris' career had been in the doldrums for ages, but his towering performance here earned him his first Oscar nomination since 1962, and gave his movie work a huge resurgence.
Rather than use prosthetic effects in his mouth, Sir John Hurt had his caps removed, and played the role of Bird with his own teeth.
In order to secure his role, Richard Harris arranged a meeting with writer and director Jim Sheridan, and turned up in full costume and in character. Sheridan, who was initially reluctant to cast Harris because of his difficult reputation, decided to cast him based on this meeting.
This movie premiered in 1990, which was the 25th anniversary year of its source stage play "The Field" by John B. Keane, which had been first performed.