Far and Away
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40 free Far and Away trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Far and Away is the 1992 epic that follows two Irish runaways, a penniless young man and a landlord's daughter, across the Atlantic and on to the Oklahoma land rush. Filmed on a grand scale on both sides of the ocean, it remains a favourite with fans of sweeping romantic adventures. This quiz covers the whole journey: the feud that starts the story, the hard months in Boston, the race for a homestead, and the people on both sides of the camera. Expect questions on the cast, the music, where and how the film was made, how critics received it and the real history behind the finale. It is written for film fans, pub quiz teams and anyone who has just rewatched the movie. The early questions are ones most viewers can answer, and the later ones reward those who know their credits. Every answer comes with a short explanation.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which star of Top Gun plays the hot-tempered Irish immigrant Joseph Donnelly in the epic Far and Away?
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise worked with a dialogue coach on the Irish accent and studied Smithsonian material to learn the body language of the period.
Q 02Which Australian-raised actress plays Shannon Christie, the landlord's headstrong daughter, in Far and Away?
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman was born in Honolulu to Australian parents and had broken through three years earlier in the thriller Dead Calm.
Q 03Which former Happy Days star directed Far and Away and shares the credit for its story?
Ron Howard
Ron Howard gave small roles to his father Rance and his brother Clint, a regular face in the films he directs.
Q 04Which future Harry Potter star has a small early role as a policeman in Far and Away?
Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson went on to play Mad-Eye Moody in the wizard saga and to earn an Oscar nomination for The Banshees of Inisherin.
Q 05Which American state stood in for Oklahoma when Far and Away's land rush climax was filmed?
Montana
Montana was picked for business reasons, and the race was staged on a 12,000-acre ranch outside the city of Billings.
Q 06What name was given to land-run cheats who, like Shannon and Stephen in Far and Away, crossed the line early?
Sooners
Sooners gave Oklahoma its Sooner State nickname, and the University of Oklahoma's football team took the name in 1908.
Q 07Which film composer scored Far and Away, blending a full orchestra with traditional Irish instruments?
John Williams
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.
Q 08With what farm tool does Shannon Christie stab Joseph Donnelly's leg when he comes to kill her father?
A pitchfork
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.
Q 09What does Shannon Christie take from home to pay for the journey from Boston to Oklahoma?
Silver spoons
Silver spoons were meant to fund the trip west, but a shipboard acquaintance steals them and is shot dead in a Boston street.
Q 10What was the real-life relationship between Far and Away's two lead actors when the film was shot?
They were married
They were married on Christmas Eve 1990, about five months before filming began in May 1991.
Q 11How does Joseph Donnelly earn extra cash at Mike Kelly's club after arriving in Boston?
Bare-knuckle boxing
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.
Q 12Which Irish actor, Star Trek's Miles O'Brien, plays the Boston ward boss Mike Kelly in Far and Away?
Colm Meaney
Colm Meaney played O'Brien in 225 episodes across Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
Q 13Which future Criminal Minds lead made his film debut as the estate manager Stephen Chase in Far and Away?
Thomas Gibson
Thomas Gibson went on to play Greg in the sitcom Dharma & Greg before spending more than a decade as Aaron Hotchner.
Q 21Far and Away's two leads first met while making which 1990 film directed by Tony Scott?
Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder cast one as a rookie stock-car driver and the other as a doctor at the local hospital.
Q 22Far and Away's two leads shared the screen for the third and last time in which Stanley Kubrick film?
Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut arrived in 1999 and was also the director's last film; he died six days after handing in his final cut.
Q 23Which future star of Mad Men and Chernobyl has a minor early role as Paddy in Far and Away?
Jared Harris
Jared Harris, whose father was the Irish film star Richard Harris, later played Lane Pryce in Mad Men and Valery Legasov in Chernobyl.
Q 14What does Stephen Chase challenge Joseph Donnelly to before Shannon whisks Joseph away to America?
A duel
A duel is about to begin the next morning when Shannon arrives in a horse-drawn cart and persuades Joseph to flee with her.
Q 15Why do the landlord's men burn down the Donnelly family home at the start of Far and Away?
Unpaid rent
Unpaid rent costs the Donnellys their cottage just after Joseph's father dies, and Joseph sets out to kill the landlord in revenge.
Q 16Far and Away was promoted as the first feature shot in 70 mm since which early-1980s science-fiction film?
Tron
Tron was filmed a decade earlier in Super Panavision 70, while the Irish epic used new large-format cameras from Panavision and Arriflex.
Q 17Which city across the Atlantic doubled for the streets of 1890s Boston in Far and Away?
Dublin
Dublin welcomed the cast and crew once filming in the American West had wrapped, and its streets were dressed as Boston.
Q 18Which Enya single, first recorded in Irish Gaelic, was re-recorded with English lyrics for Far and Away?
Book of Days
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.
Q 19Which veteran Irish folk group, led for decades by Paddy Moloney, performs on Far and Away's orchestral score?
The Chieftains
The Chieftains, formed in 1962, feature on three tracks of the soundtrack album, including the end credits.
Q 20Which major European film festival closed its 1992 edition with a screening of Far and Away?
Cannes
Cannes opened that year with Basic Instinct and showed the Irish-American epic out of competition on its final night.
Q 24In which mountain region does Joseph Donnelly find work building a railroad after leaving Shannon in Boston?
The Ozarks
The Ozarks are where Joseph spends months laying track, until he spots a wagon train bound for Oklahoma and joins it.
Q 25What is Joseph Donnelly's occupation in Ireland at the start of Far and Away, before he sails west?
Tenant farmer
Tenant farmer Joseph works ground owned by the Christie family and dreams of one day owning a plot of his own.
Q 26Which Hollywood studio, America's oldest surviving one, released Far and Away in cinemas in May 1992?
Universal
Universal opened the film in 1,583 theaters, 163 of them equipped to show it in the wide 70 mm format.
Q 27Which production company, co-founded by producer Brian Grazer in 1985, made Far and Away?
Imagine Entertainment
Imagine Entertainment grew out of the success of the mermaid comedy Splash, and both of its founders took producer credits on the Irish epic.
Q 28Which science-fiction sequel opened in American cinemas on the same day as Far and Away in May 1992?
Alien 3
Alien 3 was David Fincher's first feature as a director, and the two films went head to head on 22 May.
Q 29The 1893 Oklahoma land run in Far and Away opened which tract on the Kansas border to settlers?
The Cherokee Outlet
The Cherokee Outlet offered some 40,000 homesteads on six million acres, and its opening was the largest of Oklahoma's land runs.
Q 30Which veteran Irish actor, in one of his last screen roles, plays Danty Duff in Far and Away?
Cyril Cusack
Cyril Cusack died the following year at 82, closing a stage and screen career that had lasted more than seventy years.