As a producer, Glenn Close was highly involved in the casting process. She went to Broadway and offered the role to Janet McTeer and called Jonathan Rhys Meyers and John Light, who played her sons in The Lion in Winter (2003).
Glenn Close was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award (Oscar) for her lead role as Albert Nobbs. It was Close's sixth nomination and sixth loss, and this now ties her with actresses Thelma Ritter and Deborah Kerr for the most consecutive losses for an actress.
Towards the end of the film when Mr. Page picks up the photo of Nobbs' mother, he looks at the front of the photograph, then turns it to read the word "mother" on the verso. Then a long shot reveals he is holding the photo with the picture facing him again even though he was not shown turning it again.
Glenn Close starred in a 1982 New York stage production of this story and has been keen to bring it to the screen ever since. She came close to achieving this once before with the Hungarian Director Istvan Szabo.
Q
Is this film based on a book?
A
This film is based on the 19th century Irish writer George Moore's short story 'The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs'.