Forty actors were tested for the part of Herman. Thom Hoffman got the part because he was the only actor bold enough to give Jeroen Krabbé a French kiss during his screentest.
Paul Verhoeven wanted Thom Hoffman to do his own stunt driving, which meant making a sharp turn with 50 mph. After several failed attempts, Verhoeven took Hoffman's place and showed him how to do it. In order to help him even more, he ordered Hoffman to try and hit him with the car, jumping out of its way just before Hoffman made the turn.
Director Paul Verhoeven frequently claimed that he made this film, overdoing the symbolism and bible references intentionally, just to please the snobbish Dutch critics, who had dismissed his previous work as shallow sensationalism. In recent years however he has moderated his views on the film, declaring himself quite satisfied with it.
Paul Verhoeven admitted that he borrowed the idea for the scene where Gerard has a dream in a dream, and therefore wakes up twice, from Le Loup-garou de Londres (1981), directed by his friend John Landis.
The dog that attacks Gerard (Jeroen Krabbé) was secured with a leash, since Krabbé has an extreme fear of big dogs. During the second take of the scene, the leash was accidentally released, causing the dog to hit Krabbé, and the leash to break the dog trainer's nose.
Paul Verhoeven: [religious imagery] Gerard's visions include seeing the object of his lust being portrayed as a crucified Jesus, the loincloth replaced by a pair of speedos. The lady in the blue robe represents the Holy Mary, and in the train scene, she is holding an apple skin over her little boy's head as if it were a halo. The opening credits also feature the symbolic image of a spider crawling over a crucifix.