On February 21, 2010, when he won a BAFTA for Best Actor, Colin Firth's list of people to thank included the man who repaired his refrigerator. Firth explained that he'd decided to turn down the part, and had an email to director Tom Ford in his outbox, waiting to be sent. Then a man arrived to repair his refrigerator, and Firth had time to reconsider.

Tom Ford financed the film himself.

India, the dog George sees in the car, belongs to Tom Ford.

Colin Firth's character mentions in a conversation with Nicholas Hoult that he once took mescaline and ended up shaving off one of his eyebrows. That actually happened to director Tom Ford. He was taking the drug with Stephen Spender when he went home, looked in the mirror, and "thought it was taking over my face".

IN the DVD commentary, Tom Ford says that when Jennifer speaks to George in the bank, some of what she says is based on Ford's own childhood. She has a pet scorpion because Ford and his sister had a pet scorpion when they were little. Her older brother is named "Tom" because Ford's first name is Tom. She speaks of her brother Tom giving her hair treatments with eggs because that was something Ford did for his own sister many times. She obliviously says that her brother Tom is "light in his loafers" (a derogatory euphemism for being gay) because Ford is gay.

The film was shot in 21 days.

The glass-and-wood home that George and Jim shared is The Schaffer Residence, a real house built in 1949, in Glendale, California, by mid-century Modernist architect John Lautner.

In the original novel, George is only known by his first name. The original screenplay gives him a full name, George Carlyle Falconer. Carlyle is director Tom Ford's middle name. Falcone is the surname of Ford's first lover, illustrator Ian Falconer, and the name of a brand of sunglasses Ford's company makes.

Contrary to popular belief, Arianne Phillips designed the costumes, not Tom Ford.

Tom Ford revealed in an interview that the role of Kenny was originally given to a more famous actor (Jamie Bell, according an E! Online article) who didn't show up to the costume fitting five days prior to shooting. Ford then remembered an audition tape by Nicholas Hoult.

Colin Firth is the only British actor playing a British character. His American partner and student are played by British actors Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult, respectively. His British friend Charlotte is played American actress Julianne Moore.

Tom Ford had Colin Firth wear Creed's Bois du Portugal fragrance during shooting, believing it would help Firth get into the character of George Falconer.

Tom Ford's directorial debut.

In an interview with Terry Gross, Tom Ford explained that he created a back story for George's suit. He decided that George would've had it custom made on Saville Row on a trip home to England, which informed its cut and color. He also decided that the suit was a few years old, because 'old-school' British people of wealth tend to be thrifty with clothing. Ford put a label on the inside of the suit with George's name and 1957, the year it was made.

George's pistol is a Webley revolver, a standard firearm issued to British and Commonwealth troops from 1887 to 1963. It fired the .455 caliber Webley cartridge, making it one of the most powerful handguns ever made.

One scene shows a large drawing by Don Bachardy, Christopher Isherwood's longtime companion.

On the couch, Jim reads 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' by Truman Capote. Lee Pace appeared in Infamous (2006), which chronicles Capote's life during the writing of In Cold Blood.

Colin Firth was originally not available for the role, and someone else was cast. After a shift in the movie schedule, Firth was eventually able to take the part.

The scenes set at the college where George teaches were filmed on the campus of the former Ambassador College in Pasadena. Ambassador College was founded during the 1940s by then-famous radio preacher Herbert W. Armstrong, to groom students for lives of service to their churches. Throughout the 1960s and '70s, campuses opened in Texas and the UK. By 1990, enrollment had fallen so much that the Pasadena campus closed; the rest closed by 1997. Since 1990, the former Ambassador Pasadena campus has also been used for high school classes and church services. It has also been the subject of a long-stymied mixed-use apartment and commercial development attempt called "Westgate Pasadena."

This is the first time Chris Weitz has worked as a producer on a feature film without his brother Paul Weitz's involvement.

Victoria Silvstedt auditioned for a role.

Ridge Canipe, who sells George the bullets for his gun, and Ginnifer Goodwin, who plays Mrs. Strunk, George's friendly neighbour, both appeared in Walk the Line (2005) together as young Johnny Cash and Vivian respectively.

Jon Hamm: the uncredited voice of Hank Ackerley, the man who calls Colin Firth's character at the start of the film.

Richard Buckley: in the waiting room at the college.

Don Bachardy: In the English Department staff room. According to Tom Ford, in a December 14, 2009 interview with Terry Gross, Bachardy is wearing a pair of lucky red socks that belonged to Isherwood.

Colin Firth told interviewer Terry Gross that the scene in which his character discovers his boyfriend has died was shot at the same time that John McCain was conceding the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Firth said "hearing John McCain conceding defeat was not conducive to tragedy in that moment for me."