Lead actors Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlain were a couple between 1993 and 2003. They have a daughter, Suzanne Lindon, who became an actress herself.
Co-writer/director Stéphane Brizé wanted to cast Jean Reno in the lead role, but Reno turned down the role to do Da Vinci Code (2006) instead. It was fellow filmmaker Philippe Lioret who suggested Brizé cast Vincent Lindon as he'd just worked with him in Welcome (2009), and as such Brizé gave The Da Vinci Code's director Ron Howard a special thanks credit in the film for allowing him to cast the perfect actor by hiring Reno for his film. Brizé and Lindon would go on to work together four more times as of 2024, in Quelques heures de printemps (2012), La loi du marché (2015), En guerre (2018) and Un autre monde (2021).