Willeke van Ammelrooy was the first choice for the role of Olga. Jan Wolkers, who wrote the novel on which this movie was based, thought she'd be perfect for the part. However, director Paul Verhoeven demanded she shave her head for the hospital scene. This would mean van Ammelrooy had to decline other job offers. Besides that, producer Rob Houwer didn't want to pay the 50,000 guilders van Ammelrooy asked. He was only willing to pay 19,000 guilders.