- Never went to film school.
- He was hired as director of photography on Doctor Zhivago (1965), but disagreed constantly with director David Lean, who felt that Roeg did not respect him and regarded him as "old-fashioned". After many weeks of work, Roeg was eventually replaced by Freddie Young, although most of his work remains in the finished film. Young eventually won the Oscar for cinematography, but Roeg went unmentioned in his acceptance speech.
- Once got a job at MGM and worked there for approximately two years.
- The band Big Audio Dynamite paid tribute to Roeg on the song "E=MC2" on their first album, "This is Big Audio Dynamite". The song is filled with imagery from his movies, including descriptive snippets of Performance (1970), Don't Look Now (1973), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and Insignificance (1985).
- Was originally going to direct Flash Gordon (1980), but didn't due to creative differences.
- He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.
- Honorary Member of the Guild of British Camera Technicians (GBCT).
- His first job in the film industry included making tea and operating the clapper board at Marylebone Studios.
- Directed famous rock stars including Mick Jagger in Performance, David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Art Garfunkel in Bad Timing (only in Performance does the real rock star play a fictional one).
- Younger brother of Nicolette Roeg.
- Projects that were suggested as possible Nicolas Roeg films included "Julia" (eventually filmed by Fred Zinnemann in 1977) and "The Sheltering Sky" (eventually filmed by Bernardo Bertolucci in 1990).
- He was contracted by BBC Scotland to film Billy Connelly in 'Dallas Through the Looking Glass' but Billy pulled out. Nicholas went ahead and shot his own impromptu feature in 1980.
- Actor Donald Sutherland (who named one of his sons after Roeg) described Roeg as a "fearless visionary".
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