Leonardo DiCaprio was looked at for the role of David McCall, DiCaprio didn't think he was right for the role, but he put in a good word for friend/co-star Mark Wahlberg to director James Foley after working with him on The Basketball Diaries (1995). Foley and Wahlberg spent the day hanging out and discussing the part before Wahlberg was later told by Foley that he really liked him but that he wouldn't be considered for the lead role of David McCall. Wahlberg was subsequently offered to come in to audition for one of David's criminal friends and impressed Foley so much with his audition that Foley told the studio that he would back out of directing the movie if Wahlberg didn't get to play David.
During the movie, any time David or Nicole say, "I love you" to the other, the other never says it back.
Was filmed in 1994, but not released until April 1996.
In a July 2023 interview, Reese Witherspoon stated that the infamous roller coaster scene was changed on the spot to be more explicit than it was in the script, and that she was denied a body double. She said it was a very degrading experience.