Sylvia Kristel was offered the role of Ella Matheussen, but she had to be replaced due to insufficient budget.
Hector was eventually watched by 933,000 people in Flanders. With earnings of 3.5 million euros, the film easily broke the previous record of 1.6 million euros, which was held by Paniekzaaiers. The immense success even caught the attention of American film studios, as their films, such as La Bamba, The Untouchables, and the James Bond film The Living Daylights, were barely attended by the Flemish audience.
It is striking that, with the exception of Urbanus, all the protagonists from the film have already passed away. Aendenboom (78) died unexpectedly in his sleep in early 2018. A few months earlier, Van Eeghem (57) died of prostate cancer. The death of Sylvia Millecam (45) in 2001, a very big name in Dutch show business, has reverberated for years because she chose alternative medicine for the treatment of breast cancer.
Hilde Heijnen's debut.
The iconic location, the narrow bakery where Hector was employed, still exists and can be found at the coordinates 50.770012,4.344736 .