Matthias Schoenaerts was cast after starring opposite Marion Cotillard (who is the partner of director Guillaume Canet) in Ferrugem e Osso (2012). Canet has said that he chose Schoenaerts after hearing Cotillard praising his acting several times. Schoenaerts and Canet had met up briefly on the set of "Rust and Bone", when Canet went to visit Cotillard.
English-language adaptation of Jacques Maillot's French thriller Laços de Sangue (2008), which starred Guillaume Canet, the director of Blood Ties, in the role that was played by Billy Crudup in this movie.