Writer and director Tom DiCillo insisted on casting the relatively unknown Brad Pitt over the objections of the producer, who wanted him to consider Timothy Hutton. Ironically, DiCillo was ultimately dissatisfied with Pitt's portrayal of Johnny as being "slow" or "stupid" instead of just childish.
A few weeks into filming, writer and director Tom DiCillo fired the original director of photography after finding all of the footage shot to be worthless. When confronted with this, DiCillo claims he confessed to deliberately sabotaging the film, due to jealousy.
Writer and director Tom DiCillo took a hammer to the set created for Johnny's apartment to make it look as dilapidated as he wanted. Near the end of filming, the fire department ordered them to leave the building, as it was too unsafe to go inside.
Johnny Suede's costumes came out of writer and director Tom DiCillo's personal wardrobe. During filming, they were all stolen from a truck, which was left unlocked.
Nick Cave had an idea for his first scene as Freak Storm: he would enter a bar and order a shot of tequila, but be told by the bartender that no salt was available. He would then grab a woman and lick her armpit. This was shot, but not included in the finished film.