When Jack Nicholson received the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama, he commented afterward, "I'm a little surprised. I thought we had made a comedy."
The Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society is a real organization. Jack Nicholson filmed his scenes at the company's offices, and was given a plaque making him an honorary Woodmen member.
Two sequels to the novel "About Schmidt" were written by Louis Begley: "Schmidt Delivered" and "Schmidt Steps Back". Writer and director Alexander Payne, who has the movie rights to the series, has declined to produce either, as he avoids making sequels of his work. He took a similar stance on Entre copas (2004), where he declined to produce either of the sequel novels written by Rex Pickett.
The production crew created a lifetime Endowed Scholarship for the real-life Ndugu, Abdallah Mtulu, through the real Childreach Organization.
When Jack Nicholson met writer and director Alexander Payne to discuss his role, Payne had a one-sentence directive for him; it was "Jack, I want you to play a small man."