While Father Brian (Edward Norton) is commiserating with Paulie the bartender (Brian George), Brian clarifies: "You're a Sikh, Catholic Muslim with Jewish in-laws?" And Paulie responds, "Yes. Yes. It gets very complicated. I'm reading Dianetics." In fact, Brian George has a different but equally varied background: he was born in Jerusalem to Jewish parents of Indian, Lebanese, and Iraqi descent who had emigrated to Israel from India. While George was still a baby, his family moved to London, and then, when George was a teenager, they moved again, this time to Toronto, Canada.
Casanova, the businessman in the office across the street, is played by Jenna Elfman's husband Bodhi Elfman.
Edward Norton turned down a leading part in U-571: A Batalha do Atlântico (2000) in order to make his directorial debut.