Steve McQueen insisted on performing the stunt where he jumps off a cliff into the water. McQueen once said that it was "one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life".
Dustin Hoffman had to wear corrective contact lenses so that he could see through the thick glasses he had to wear.
Reportedly, the producers began taking raw footage to backers in Paris and getting just enough cash to keep things rolling. The money ran out, no one was paid for three weeks, and it looked as though the production would be shut down altogether. When Steve McQueen found out, he told the producers, "Unless everyone gets paid, I don't work." The situation improved after that.
Henri Charrière was present for the shoot in Jamaica, but he died of lung cancer in July 1973, a few months before the film was edited and released. He never got to see the finished product.
Whilst shooting in Jamaica, Dustin Hoffman met Sir Paul McCartney who was vacationing in Montego Bay. One evening, Hoffman invited McCartney to dinner and challenged him to write a song "about anything". Since painter Pablo Picasso had just died, Hoffman requested that McCartney compose a song around Picasso's dying words ("Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can't drink anymore"). McCartney created a demo on the spot and the song, "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)", appeared on Wings' 1973 album "Band On the Run".
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