The film was dedicated to Lenny McLean, who played Barry the Baptist. He died of lung cancer exactly one month before the film's premiere. The dedication reads as follows: "In memory of LENNY McLEAN (The Guv'nor)"
Jason Statham has worked as a street vendor in real life, similar to the character he plays in the opening of the film.
The scene where Nick the Greek breaks the glass in the coffee table was not in the script. It was, in fact, an accident that happened during filming, and director Guy Ritchie decided to use it in the final cut.
On Vinnie Jones' first day of filming, he had just been released from police custody - he had been arrested for beating up his neighbour.
The film was having trouble finding an American distributor when Trudie Styler called an acquaintance of hers - Tom Cruise. He attended a screening and loved the film. Matthew Vaughn later recalled, "It was hysterical. You had all these mid-level executives sitting there, and Cruise walked in. He saw them all sit up and pay attention, all getting on their phones, and suddenly all these senior executives joined the screening ... At the end, Tom got up in front of everyone and said 'This is the best movie I've seen in years, you guys would be fools not to buy it.'"
Tim Maurice-Jones: the film's cinematographer appears as the man being drowned by Barry the Baptist.
Steve Collins: former super-middleweight world champion, plays the bouncer for Hatchet Harry's card game, who refuses entry to everyone except Eddy.