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Spoilers (10)
Brad Pitt trained for six months to get a body that looked like that of Greek statues.
Ironically Brad Pitt tore his left Achilles tendon during production.
Garrett Hedlund won the role of Patroclus one month after arriving in Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
Historians are sharply divided about whether or not the Trojan War actually occurred, and if it did, which archaeological site is actually Troy. Discoveries at the beginning of the 21st century provide new evidence of several armed battles in the right area at the right time, but definitive proof is hard to find, largely due to the historical practice of building one city on the ruins of another. Homer's Illiad (and similar epics depicting the Trojan War) were written hundreds of years after the Trojan War supposedly occurred, and are of little use in determining factual historical events because they include many mythological elements. One theory is that the Troy of Homer's lifetime was destroyed by an earthquake, and that the Illiad is a symbolic reinterpretation of that, since a horse is the symbol of the Greek god of earthquakes. The producers decided to eliminate all mythological elements from the story, giving the film an air of historical authenticity not present in the original works.
As Achilles strolls along the beach, among the unpacking Greeks, he teases Odysseus about being the last one to show up. This is an in-joke for those familiar with the Odyssey. Odysseus was the last Greek to return home from Troy because he clashed with various gods.
Brad Pitt claimed the filming was torturous for him because he had to quit smoking.
Garrett Hedlund gained 30 lbs for his role as Patroclus. He gained an additional 20 lbs for his role in Friday Night Lights (2004) which got him up to 200 pounds; he normally weighs 145.
One hurricane tore through the set at night, and wiped out Brad Pitt's house. Pitt woke up at around 4 AM, but he was so tired from the night before that he slept through the hurricane.
Wolfgang Petersen originally didn't want Helen to appear in the movie; he felt an actress couldn't live up to the audience's expectations. The producers insisted, so Petersen cast an unknown actress.
The Trojan horse prop made for the movie was given to the Turkish government as a gift. It is now exhibited on the boardwalk of Canakkale, a main seaside city where most visitors to the Troy ruins stay. Canakkale is about an hour's ride to the Troy site. (There is another cruder "Trojan horse" also at the Troy site...but it is not the movie prop.)
After the film was announced, the Turkish government and Ministry of Culture and Tourism contacted the producers and suggested the film be shot in Canakkale, Turkey, site of the real Troy. The Turkish government offered sponsorship if the film premiered in Canakkale. It premiered in Berlin, where most historical Trojan artifacts were displayed after being taken from Anatolia.
Achilles and Patroclus train inside an ancient Maltan "menhir", which could have been built as early as 2000 BC.
When the movie was released in Italy, the title was not translated because its Italian/Latin equivalent,"Troia", is Italian slang for "prostitute."
The impending war in Iraq forced production to move from Morocco to Baja California Sur, Mexico, in February 2003.
Director Wolfgang Petersen left the proposed Batman Vs. Superman project to direct. Brad Pitt left The Fountain (2006), and was replaced by Hugh Jackman.
EASTER EGG:. On the main menu on the special features disc, keep hitting right on the control until a section of the Trojan Horse on screen lights up green and hit enter to show a series of creative animations related to the movie.
The Mexican set was hit by two hurricanes in less than a month. The last hurricane hit during the last week of production, when everything was pretty much wrapped.
All the male cast had to shave or wax their chest. Eric Bana usually has a hairy chest but had to wax it completely.
Keira Knightley auditioned for the role of Briseis.
Diane Kruger, a native German speaker, dubbed her own character in the German dubbed version.
Diane Kruger gained 15 lbs for the role of Helen.
While Achilles and Patroclus are second cousins in Homer's Iliad, the poem hints that they may be lovers as well.
Wolfgang Petersen cast two relative unknowns for two of the central female roles in this film. Troy would end up launching the American careers of both Diane Kruger and Rose Byrne. Within a year, they would also star together in Wicker Park (2004), and Kruger would star in National Treasure (2004).
According to the special features DVD, 300 buff Bulgarian male extras were transported to the Mexican shooting location and trained for battle scenes so the Greeks and Trojans would look sufficiently European. They supplemented Euro-looking Mexicans and were used in battle close-ups. "Soldier extras" got instructions in Spanish, Bulgarian, and English.
George Camilleri, a bodybuilder who won the title of Mr. Malta in 1989, broke his leg while filming an action sequence at Ghajn Tuffieha, Malta on 30 May 2003. He had surgery the following day, suffered complications, and died on 17 June 2003.
James Horner composed the score for the movie in less than 6 weeks. Gabriel Yared spent over a year on his version. In the 2007 Director's Cut Edition, Wolfgang Petersen used parts of Yared's score and music from other films, especially from Planet of the Apes (2001), The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) and Starship Troopers (1997) in the fight scene between Achilles and Hector.
Sean Bean was Odysseus in this and played Zeus in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010).
Although Achilles' death is not mentioned in the Iliad, according to The Odyssey he died well before Troy fell; and it was his death that inspired Odysseus (Ulysses to some) to build the Trojan horse.
The movie's trailer also contained the shot revealing the entire Greek fleet sailing towards Troy, but it had substantially more ships in it. When it became clear that this would be unrealistic (ships sailing so close to one another would only hinder each other), the number of ships in the shot was drastically reduced in the finished movie.
The character of Briseis was first given to Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan but she declined due to being uncomfortable with love making scenes.
In the Italian dubbed version, Brad Pitt's voice was changed from his usual one (Sandro Acerbo) to the voice of Loris Loddi, who usually dubs Val Kilmer. Wolfgang Petersen personally chose Loddi.
Terry Gilliam was offered the chance to direct the movie. He read 5 pages of the script and declined.
Wolfgang Petersen dropped various Greek Gods from the storyline, saying they were silly and unnecessary to the plot.
Nigel Terry plays Archeptolemus - the Oracle who interprets the signs of war for Peter O'Toole's character Priam - previously appeared with O'Toole in 1967's The Lion In Winter. Terry played slow-witted son John to O'Toole's King Henry II.
Katie Holmes tested for the role of Helen.
Warner Brothers rejected Gabriel Yared's score because it was too old-fashioned.
Early in production the film was titled "Trojan War." This has continued as an alternate title in some non-US markets.
Many German viewers were annoyed when they realized that, in the German dubbed version, the dubbing voice of Brad Pitt was changed from his usual one (Tobias Meister) to the voice of Martin Kessler, who normally dubs Nicolas Cage. This was done on personal request from director Wolfgang Petersen.
At one point, Paris mentions to Hector that they were protected by Poseidon during their journey back home. Wolfgang Petersen follow-up movie after Troy (2004) would be Poseidon (2006).
Halle Berry, Keira Knightley, Kristin Kreuk, Jennifer Lopez, Sophie Marceau, Connie Nielsen and Catherine Zeta-Jones were all considered to play Helen of Troy.
Trevor Eve's part was cut to just two lines: "The best of Greece outnumber the best of Troy two to one," and "My prince, it's a gift to the gods."
Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean were both in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Christopher Nolan was offered the opportunity to direct the film.
Model Charlotte Kemp Muhl was considered for the role of Helen.
The trailers list Gabriel Yared as composer, not James Horner' who composed the score when Yared's was rejected.
Brendan Gleeson starred opposite Orlando Bloom again a year later in Kingdom of Heaven. Again they were enemies.
Spoilers
Sean Bean is famous for his death scenes in movies. Surprisingly, his character is the only high-ranking Greek commander to survive at the movie's end.
During the fight when Patroclus dresses up as Achilles, Brad Pitt himself is in the scene. When Hector removes Patroclus' helmet after cutting his throat, Garrett Hedlund is in the costume.
When Paris is helping the citizens of Troy escape, he hands Priam's sword to a young man named Aeneas and tells him that as long as the sword is in the hands of a son of Troy, the Trojans will survive. This is an obvious reference to Publius Vergilius Maro's (Virgil's) epic poem, The Aeneid, which tells the story of a prince of Troy named Aeneas leading the survivors of Troy through a series of hardships before settling in Italy, where his descendants establish Rome 5 centuries later. According to 'The Iliad', Aeneas was the son of Venus, and the second greatest warrior the Trojans fielded during the war. The man he is assisting must be Anchises, King of Dardania and father of Aeneas. In his youth Anchises had been crippled by a thunderbolt from Zeus. Aeneas escaped the burning Troy while carrying his elderly father on his back.
In Homer's time, archers were looked down upon because they did not fight their opponent on equal terms. Paris, the weakest and least brave, is an experienced archer, and kills Achilles with his arrows. Achilles, the best fighter of all, was never beaten in an open duel.
There are several differences between Homer's Iliad and this movie. The twelve Greek Gods play a major role in the plot; some side with the Greeks and some with the Trojans, even arguing and physically fighting beside their allies. In the poem, neither Menelaus nor Agamemnon dies. Achilles' death is foretold, but does not occur in the Illiad, which leaves the Trojan War unresolved. He does die in the war in many related works by other authors. Ajax Telamon also survives the Iliad, but in related literature he dies by his own hand shortly after Achilles' death. The war lasts 10 years, and the events depicted in the movie take place during the last few months of the war. A Greek named Filoktitis or Philoctetes kills Paris right after he kills Achilles (not part of the Iliad, but part of the Greek mythology). Overall, the Iliad is an account of the feud between Achilles and Agamemnon; not all the romantic elements are as prominent in the poem as they are in the movie.
In the original stories, Agamemnon survived the Trojan War, but was killed by his wife's lover. His son Orestes later avenged his death by killing them both.
In the original story, Achilles does indeed lash Hector's corpse to his chariot. However, instead of taking it back to the Greek camp as he does in the film, he instead drags it around the walls of Troy for several days in anger.
This film reunites two pairs of actors who have previously played allies, but who are now enemies to one another. Brendan Gleeson formerly allied with James Cosmo as Hamish Cambell and his Father in Braveheart (1995). Sean Bean and Orlando Bloom were allied as Boromir and Legolas in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). Interestingly James Cosmo is the only actor of the four whose characters die in both films.