40 Fun Facts About Far and Away

Which star of Top Gun plays the hot-tempered Irish immigrant Joseph Donnelly in the epic Far and Away?

Tom Cruise worked with a dialogue coach on the Irish accent and studied Smithsonian material to learn the body language of the period.

Which Australian-raised actress plays Shannon Christie, the landlord's headstrong daughter, in Far and Away?

Nicole Kidman was born in Honolulu to Australian parents and had broken through three years earlier in the thriller Dead Calm.

Which former Happy Days star directed Far and Away and shares the credit for its story?

Ron Howard gave small roles to his father Rance and his brother Clint, a regular face in the films he directs.

Which future Harry Potter star has a small early role as a policeman in Far and Away?

Brendan Gleeson went on to play Mad-Eye Moody in the wizard saga and to earn an Oscar nomination for The Banshees of Inisherin.

Which American state stood in for Oklahoma when Far and Away's land rush climax was filmed?

Montana was picked for business reasons, and the race was staged on a 12,000-acre ranch outside the city of Billings.

What name was given to land-run cheats who, like Shannon and Stephen in Far and Away, crossed the line early?

Sooners gave Oklahoma its Sooner State nickname, and the University of Oklahoma's football team took the name in 1908.

Which film composer scored Far and Away, blending a full orchestra with traditional Irish instruments?

John Williams conducted the score himself, and its themes were later borrowed for the trailers of films such as Treasure Planet and Charlotte's Web.

With what farm tool does Shannon Christie stab Joseph Donnelly's leg when he comes to kill her father?

A pitchfork leaves Joseph laid up in the Christie house, where Shannon and her mother nurse him back to health only so that he can hang.

What does Shannon Christie take from home to pay for the journey from Boston to Oklahoma?

Silver spoons were meant to fund the trip west, but a shipboard acquaintance steals them and is shot dead in a Boston street.

What was the real-life relationship between Far and Away's two lead actors when the film was shot?

They were married on Christmas Eve 1990, about five months before filming began in May 1991.

How does Joseph Donnelly earn extra cash at Mike Kelly's club after arriving in Boston?

Bare-knuckle boxing makes Joseph a regular at the club until he loses a big-money bout to an Italian fighter and is thrown onto the street.

Which Irish actor, Star Trek's Miles O'Brien, plays the Boston ward boss Mike Kelly in Far and Away?

Colm Meaney played O'Brien in 225 episodes across Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.

Which future Criminal Minds lead made his film debut as the estate manager Stephen Chase in Far and Away?

Thomas Gibson went on to play Greg in the sitcom Dharma & Greg before spending more than a decade as Aaron Hotchner.

What does Stephen Chase challenge Joseph Donnelly to before Shannon whisks Joseph away to America?

A duel is about to begin the next morning when Shannon arrives in a horse-drawn cart and persuades Joseph to flee with her.

Why do the landlord's men burn down the Donnelly family home at the start of Far and Away?

Unpaid rent costs the Donnellys their cottage just after Joseph's father dies, and Joseph sets out to kill the landlord in revenge.

Far and Away was promoted as the first feature shot in 70 mm since which early-1980s science-fiction film?

Tron was filmed a decade earlier in Super Panavision 70, while the Irish epic used new large-format cameras from Panavision and Arriflex.

Which city across the Atlantic doubled for the streets of 1890s Boston in Far and Away?

Dublin welcomed the cast and crew once filming in the American West had wrapped, and its streets were dressed as Boston.

Which Enya single, first recorded in Irish Gaelic, was re-recorded with English lyrics for Far and Away?

Book of Days became Enya's second UK top-ten single, and the new version replaced the all-Gaelic recording on later pressings of her album Shepherd Moons.

Which veteran Irish folk group, led for decades by Paddy Moloney, performs on Far and Away's orchestral score?

The Chieftains, formed in 1962, feature on three tracks of the soundtrack album, including the end credits.

Which major European film festival closed its 1992 edition with a screening of Far and Away?

Cannes opened that year with Basic Instinct and showed the Irish-American epic out of competition on its final night.

Far and Away's two leads first met while making which 1990 film directed by Tony Scott?

Days of Thunder cast one as a rookie stock-car driver and the other as a doctor at the local hospital.

Far and Away's two leads shared the screen for the third and last time in which Stanley Kubrick film?

Eyes Wide Shut arrived in 1999 and was also the director's last film; he died six days after handing in his final cut.

Which future star of Mad Men and Chernobyl has a minor early role as Paddy in Far and Away?

Jared Harris, whose father was the Irish film star Richard Harris, later played Lane Pryce in Mad Men and Valery Legasov in Chernobyl.

In which mountain region does Joseph Donnelly find work building a railroad after leaving Shannon in Boston?

The Ozarks are where Joseph spends months laying track, until he spots a wagon train bound for Oklahoma and joins it.

What is Joseph Donnelly's occupation in Ireland at the start of Far and Away, before he sails west?

Tenant farmer Joseph works ground owned by the Christie family and dreams of one day owning a plot of his own.

Which Hollywood studio, America's oldest surviving one, released Far and Away in cinemas in May 1992?

Universal opened the film in 1,583 theaters, 163 of them equipped to show it in the wide 70 mm format.

Which production company, co-founded by producer Brian Grazer in 1985, made Far and Away?

Imagine Entertainment grew out of the success of the mermaid comedy Splash, and both of its founders took producer credits on the Irish epic.

Which science-fiction sequel opened in American cinemas on the same day as Far and Away in May 1992?

Alien 3 was David Fincher's first feature as a director, and the two films went head to head on 22 May.

The 1893 Oklahoma land run in Far and Away opened which tract on the Kansas border to settlers?

The Cherokee Outlet offered some 40,000 homesteads on six million acres, and its opening was the largest of Oklahoma's land runs.

Which veteran Irish actor, in one of his last screen roles, plays Danty Duff in Far and Away?

Cyril Cusack died the following year at 82, closing a stage and screen career that had lasted more than seventy years.

Which actor, Sergeant Jablonski in Hill Street Blues, plays Shannon's father Daniel Christie in Far and Away?

Robert Prosky followed the role with parts in Hoffa, Rudy and Last Action Hero, and was once considered for Frasier's father Martin Crane.

Which screenwriter of the fantasy Willow wrote Far and Away's screenplay and shares its story credit?

Bob Dolman, a Canadian who once wrote for the sketch show SCTV, also pops up on screen in a cameo credited as Honest Bob.

Which earlier film by Far and Away's director was reaching cinemas as he began preparing the Irish epic?

Backdraft, a firefighting thriller, opened on 24 May 1991, four days before principal photography began on the Irish epic.

Which Irish peninsula, also the setting of Ryan's Daughter, hosted location filming for Far and Away?

Dingle is the northernmost of Kerry's big peninsulas and ends at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of mainland Ireland.

What must Joseph and Shannon drive into the ground to claim their plot at the end of Far and Away?

A flag is all Joseph needs to plant, but a fight with his rival leaves him crushed beneath a horse before the pair finally drive it in together.

How does Shannon Christie secretly earn extra money at Mike Kelly's club in Boston?

Burlesque dancing pays extra, but Joseph storms in to haul her off the stage when he finds out.

At what time of day did the real 1893 land run, recreated in Far and Away's finale, officially begin?

Noon on 16 September was the official start, yet most of the estimated 100,000 racers ended the day without a claim.

At the 13th Golden Raspberry Awards, Far and Away received a nomination in which category?

Worst Original Song was the category, for Enya's contribution to the soundtrack, but the 'prize' went to a number from the Disney musical Newsies.

In Far and Away, which performer at Mike Kelly's club flirts with Joseph and makes Shannon jealous?

Grace is played by Michelle Johnson, and her interest in Joseph brings the simmering tension between the two runaways to the surface.

Which actress, an Emmy winner for Hill Street Blues, plays Shannon's mother Nora Christie in Far and Away?

Barbara Babcock won the award in 1981 and later spent five years as Dorothy Jennings in a CBS western series.