- Fellow independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch appears as the "Frosty Kreme" worker in the beginning. His name tag reads "Deke", the name of the film's Electrical Best Boy.
- In order to make his walk more awkward and consistent, Billy Bob Thornton placed crushed glass in his shoes.
- Billy Wilder advised Billy Bob Thornton to write a screenplay where he could exploit his less than perfect features.
- A remake of the short film Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (1994). Both were written and starred Billy Bob Thornton.
- Billy Bob Thornton said he wrote the role of Vaughan Cunningham specifically for his good friend John Ritter.
- Cameo by Col. Bruce Hampton Ret. of Aquarium Rescue Unit and Code Talkers during Doyle's band scene. Col. Bruce is the Tambourine player and can be seen blowing his trademark "Smokeless Smoke Ring" in a close up shot.
- Vaughan (John Ritter) is holding a copy of the book "A Confederacy of Dunces" in his final scene. The book revolves around a Southern character that is unable to fit into society.
- Billy Bob Thornton had written the script in long hand, at his family's house in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
- Co-stars J.T. Walsh and John Ritter both died of a heart attack at the age of 54.
- Billy Bob Thornton requested that no red be seen in this movie stating : "I don't like to see red in a movie, unless it's about the Revolutionary War".
- According to Billy Bob Thornton, he invented Karl's unique facial expressions and speech patterns, plus ad-libbed the entire "sling blade" speech at the beginning of the film, while looking at himself in a make-up room mirror, waiting to film his scene as a train conductor in The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains (1987) (TV). His scene was later cut from that film.
- Harvey Weinstein - then co-chairman of Miramax - only saw the first 30 minutes of Sling Blade (1996) when he agreed to pay $10m for the rights to the film. He later regretted this and forced Billy Bob Thornton to cut about 20 minutes from the movie.
- When Doyle tells Linda that "retards" make him sick, he adds that the same is true for antique furniture and midgets. Billy Bob Thornton has been quoted as saying that two of his phobias are antique furniture and midgets.
>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<
Trivia items below here contain information that may give away important plot points. You may not want to read any further if you've not already seen this title.
- SPOILER: The last spoken word in the movie by Doyle, Vaughan, Frank, and Linda is the same: "Karl...?"
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