Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter are married in real life, and in this movie, they played the same role. Staunton played the Nurse off-stage, and Carter played the nurse on-stage.
1998 was the only year that two actresses were nominated for Academy Awards for playing the same character in two different movies in the same year. Dame Judi Dench was nominated (and won) for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing Queen Elizabeth I in this movie, and Cate Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress for portraying Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998). It is also worth noting that Joseph Fiennes portrayed the love interest in both of these movies, and that Geoffrey Rush was nominated for a BAFTA Award for his performance in each, winning for Elizabeth (1998).
Dame Judi Dench won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth I, although her screen time is only 5:52 in four scenes. This is the second-shortest performance to win an Oscar (behind only Beatrice Straight in Network (1976), who has 5:02 of screen time).
Dame Judi Dench was so taken with the full-sized replica set of the Rose Theater that Miramax gave it to her to take home when filming ended. Variety reported in early 1999 that she was looking for a site, and a financial backer, so it could be used as a working theater.
The unpleasant little urchin John Webster (Joe Roberts), who is shown playing with mice, grows up to be a big name of the next (Jacobean) generation of playwrights. His plays are known for their blood and gore, and his most famous title is "The Duchess of Malfi".