Tommy Lee Jones declined to reprise his role so he could appear in The Fugitive (1993). That role had originally been offered to Jon Voight, who turned it down when he found out that Jones was not going to reprise his role in this film, a part Voight wanted to play.
The second time Jon Voight and Ricky Schroder played father and son. The first time was in The Champ (1979), which was Schroder's first role.
The miniseries cast includes four Oscar winners: Chris Cooper, Reese Witherspoon, Jon Voight and Louis Gossett, Jr.; and one Oscar nominee: Barbara Hershey.
Oliver Reed was a last minute replacement for Nicol Williamson who walked off the production the night before he was due to start filming.
Jon Voight and Louis Gossett, Jr. appeared in Jasper, Texas (2003).