For the bug chamber sequence, Kate Capshaw was really covered with over two thousand insects. She took sedatives prior to the scene to get over her initial fear, and claimed "they definitely worked".
D.R. Nanayakkara, cast as the Indian village Shaman, did not speak a word of English. He delivered his lines phonetically by mimicking Steven Spielberg who was prompting him off-camera. The pauses in his dialogue were therefore not for dramatic effect, but rather waiting for his next line.
Kate Capshaw was very critical of her own character, saying that Willie was "not much more than a dumb screaming blonde".
An unproduced script that became Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) had Indiana reveal what happened to Willie, saying, "Last I heard, she married a big-shot director." This is an in-joke, as Kate Capshaw married Steven Spielberg (though the joke did not make the final draft).
Amrish Puri shaved his head for the role of Mola Ram. This created such an impression that he kept this look and became one of India's most popular film villains.
as Weber, the British-accented man who escorts Indy, Short Round and Willie onto the cargo plane. Aykroyd had previously worked with Steven Spielberg on the film 1941 (1979).
A missionary in the background in the airport scene at the beginning.
A tourist in the background in the airport scene at the beginning.
A missionary in the background in the airport scene at the beginning.
Grabbing a fallen hat under a descending door at the last minute.
Short Round looks on Indiana Jones as a father-figure. Indiana seems reluctant at times to return the feeling.
When Indiana is talking to Short Round on the hill above the village at 0:28:19.