Ed Harris's father, Bob L. Harris, bought his son a book about Jackson Pollock simply because he felt Ed bore a strong resemblance to the painter. Ever since then, Ed Harris became fascinated with Pollock's life.
Starring in and directing the movie was so strenuous for Ed Harris that he collapsed on the set and had to be briefly hospitalized.
The veterinarian who comes out to check the dog that Pollock finds lying hurt in the road is played by Ed Harris' father, Bob L. Harris, who initially gave Harris the idea to make a movie about Pollock.
Filming took a mere 50 days with a six-week layoff after forty days so Ed Harris could take time to gain thirty pounds and grow a beard.