Sonia Braga did not speak English at the time of production, and had to recite her lines phonetically. Originally, William Hurt was cast as Valentin and Raul Julia was cast as Molina. During rehearsals, the two actors had trouble finding the chemistry they needed for their scenes together. They agreed to try an experiment where they would switch roles, with Hurt as Molina and Julia as Valentin. The role-switching rehearsal went so well that the two actors and director Hector Babenco decided ...[Read Story ]