Gérard Depardieu also plays Edmond's father during the flashback scenes, where the young Edmond is played by his own son, Guillaume Depardieu.
Guillaume Depardieu and Julien Rochefort both play younger versions of characters played by their fathers, Gérard Depardieu and Jean Rochefort. Naike Rivelli, who plays the young Mercedes, is the daughter of Ornella Muti, who plays the older Mercedes.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Inc., Startrak Overnight Ratings for 6/21-6/24, 1999 (8PM & 11PM airings), beginning with a 1.4 GAA for the premiere, 'Le comte de Monte Cristo' sustained an average rating of 1.3 GAA for the entire 8-hour series, crowning Bravo's first mini-series as the highest rated original co-production in the network's history.
Dantes's servant Bertuccio confesses that his real name is Benedetto. Caderouse's associate, Toussaint, is later revealed to be the love child of Villefort and Hermione Danglars. In the novel, these stories are more closely related. Toussaint's name in the novel is Benedetto, and Bertuccio raised him after digging him up from Villefort's back yard. Benedetto and Caderouse, having both turned to a life of crime, are both sentenced to be galley slaves, which is where they meet. Benedetto's trial is what ultimately leads to his paternity (and maternity) being revealed.
This isn't the first time that Gérard Depardieu played in an adaptation of a novel from Alexandre Dumas : he already played one of the main characters in The Man in the Iron Mask.