Key hair stylist Aldo Signoretti was kidnapped by gang members and held for $300 ransom which Baz Luhrmann paid.
Leonardo DiCaprio's version of Romeo's speech at Juliet's bier was so good that it moved Claire Danes to tears, nearly ruining the scene. The moment the director yelled "cut," Danes smacked DiCaprio on the arm and said, "Don't make me cry. I'm supposed to be comatose, here!"
Cinematographer Donald McAlpine was faced with a real problem with the meet-cute scene between Romeo and Juliet at the fish tank - the reflections of the water and the glass of the tank were almost impossible to light without causing all sorts of untoward reflections. McAlpine solved the problem by inserting a couple of fluorescent tubes into the tank out of the camera's eyeline. These were the sole source of light in the scene.
The opening petrol station encounter took 7 days to film with 2 days of pick-ups in Veracruz.
On Paul Rudd's last day on the shoot, he and Leonardo DiCaprio were on their way to a bar to celebrate when DiCaprio casually mentioned that he'd been considering the lead in a studio film titled Titanic (1997). Being an expert on the great ship's history thanks to his dad, Rudd urged DiCaprio to jump at the offer.
Catherine Martin, Kym Barrett: The production designer and the costume designer make cameo appearances as Gloria Capulet's maids. They are seen in the film dressing Juliet's mother in her Cleopatra costume before the ball.
Martin Brown: The film's co-producer is the security man sitting at the monitors in the balcony scene.
John O'Connell: The choreographer plays the waiter at Sycamore Grove just before Mercutio's death scene.