During the Oscar season in early 1994, the Samuel Goldwyn company spent $10 million campaigning for this movie to garner Oscar nominations. They sent bulky packets to all members of the Academy and played up the movie in hopes of getting it on the final ballot. The movie, though highly acclaimed and (unusual for William Shakespeare) a box-office hit, received no Oscar nominations. All in all, the effort wound up being much ado about nothing.
Theatrical movie debut of Kate Beckinsale (Hero), who shot this movie during her summer break from studying Russian and French at New College, Oxford, England. It also contains her first screen kiss.
Like Much Ado About Nothing (1967), this movie cast a real-life married couple in the leads. In the earlier, made-for-television movie, it was Robert Stephens and Dame Maggie Smith. In this movie, it was Sir Kenneth Branagh and Dame Emma Thompson. Both couples later divorced.
Phyllida Law (Ursula) is the mother of Emma Thompson (Beatrice). At the time that the film was made, she was the mother-in-law of Kenneth Branagh (Benedick).
Keanu Reeves claimed in an interview on British radio that during filming, Brian Blessed befriended him and taught him how to meditate.
Kenneth Branagh: [composer] The film's score composer Patrick Doyle is cast as Balthasar. Doyle has composed soundtracks for 14 Branagh films.
Kenneth Branagh: [cast] This film features several members of Branagh's 'stock'/'repertory' company who also appeared in Henry V (1989) and/or Peter's Friends (1992): Brian Blessed, Richard Briers, Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton, Phyllida Law, Alex Lowe, and Patrick Doyle.