What attracted Robin Williams to the role of John Keating more than anything else was that he was the type of teacher he, in his school days, always wished he had.
Robin Williams considered this movie one of his favorite films he did, and Peter Weir the best director he had ever worked with.
Director Peter Weir chose to shoot the film in chronological order to better capture the development of the relationships between the boys and their growing respect for Mr. Keating.
At the premiere, Kurtwood Smith saw a family with the father domineering his son very much like his own character in the film. After the film Smith noticed the family leaving and saw that the father was crying.