Bruce Willis suggested Samuel L. Jackson for the movie. Jackson was thrilled. He says he's "seen the first Duro de Matar (1988) maybe thirty times."
Jonathan Hensleigh was detained by the FBI after completing the script for the film because he knew extensive information about the Federal Gold Reserve in downtown Manhattan. Hensleigh stated that he got all the information from an article written in the New York Times.
Samuel L. Jackson said that Zeus "is the closest character to my personality of any that I've played."
The sandwich board that Bruce Willis wore while filming in Harlem was originally blank, rather than text, to ensure no one was offended by the racist message. The "I Hate Niggers" was added with CGI in post-production. Some television broadcasts use an alternate version where the sign reads "I hate everybody," which is sometimes erroneously said to be the original version of the sign used for filming, but this too was added with CGI in post-production.
Highest grossing movie worldwide of 1995.