Trivia

In a scene during the Olympics, there is mention of Ran Laurie in the British boat. Ran Laurie was the father of actor Hugh Laurie.

Prior to making the film, the actors had no rowing experience. They were given a physio and a trainer to prepare for the physicality of rowing. They trained every day for months, rowing for four hours a day, every day, and then an hour after filming. George Clooney deliberately shot the film in order "so by the time we got to the race in Germany, our kids could stay in the game." The actors' goal was to get to 46 strokes per minute while working on the film, which they achieved, matching the strokes per minute of the original crew in the Olympics.

Director George Clooney said "It was really important to us that that the rowing community actually had a film that captured the thrill of what that is, and the speed."

Principal photography began in March 2022, and was due to take place at Winnersh Film Studios in Berkshire, as well as in Los Angeles and Berlin. The 1936 Summer Olympics and scenes around the University of Washington boathouse were filmed on the Cleveland Lakes in the Cotswold Water Park near Swindon (UK), with additional scenes filmed at Molesey Boat Club, and at Pinewood Studios.

Members of various boat clubs in the area, such as, St Hugh's Boat Club, Merton College Boat Club, The Queen's College Boat Club, Walbrook Rowing Club and Oriel College Boat Club from the University of Oxford, were recruited as rowers for various national teams in the Olympics.

Additional filming was done at Ashlyns School for many of the scenes set inside the University of Washington.

The Associated Students of University of Washington (ASUW) Shell House was built as a U.S. Navy seaplane hangar near the end of World War I. The Shell House was sold to the UW for $1 soon after the war, to become the new home of the UW rowing team.