Richard Gere and Julia Roberts had obvious chemistry upon their first meeting; however, Gere was not planning on taking the role. He was on the phone ready to turn down the part when Roberts slid him a Post-it note with the words "please say yes" written on it. He accepted the role right then.
In the dinner scene where Vivian flings the snail across the room, the waiter who catches it says, "It happens all the time." Director Garry Marshall threw the snail himself over many shots before the actor caught the snail convincingly. He then cast the same actor in The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) years later and gave him the same line.
The opera Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts to is "La Traviata," about a prostitute who falls in love with a wealthy man.
Disney told Garry Marshall there was no money available in the budget for Hector Elizondo, so he paid Elizondo's salary out of his own pocket. Eventually, Disney relented and repaid Marshall the money.
Garry Marshall: the voiceover of the man digging through the trash outside of "Sylvester Stallone's" house (dubbed due to poor sound quality).