In an interview with Sacha Baron Cohen in promoting the movie, SBC said of the English town of Grimsby: "Grimsby is a lovely town in the North of England, which is twinned with the city of Chernobyl. I'm very proud of it - it was recently declared number three in the whole of Europe for childhood obesity and we just became the first town in England to achieve 100 per cent unemployment. Grimsby's a friendly place, where the little things that strangers say matter a lot. Like a 'please', a 'thank you', a 'not guilty'."
In an interview, Sacha Baron Cohen said of Donald Trump's appearance in the film: "Yeah, Donald, he loves my work," he sighs. "When I called him up, he was very excited. He worked for about a week; he was great. We gave him a wrap gift and he worked for minimum wage." He laughs. "No, (the footage [of Trump in the film]) wasn't real. We didn't get permission."
None of the shots in Grimsby were actually shot in the town, they were all shot in Essex. Cohen never asked to shoot in the town.
The look of Sacha Baron Cohen's character, most particularly the hair and sideburns, is heavily reflective of that of Liam Gallagher, frontman of world famous 90s-00s rock band Oasis. The pair had a dispute around 2012. Cohen later said: "I thought to avoid confrontation by having my hair done like him in my next movie." The Mirror newspaper also reported that Cohen "based his look in [the] new film The Brothers Grimsby (2016) on the former Oasis frontman".
The conceptualization of this movie's high concept, which was "James Bond's Brother" was summarized by star Sacha Baron Cohen in an interview with MIT's The Tech: "Phil Johnston came into the office and pitched this idea, which was James Bond's brother. My immediate response was, "Who's the best guy to act as a foil to a James Bond-type that could create havoc for him on the road?" So I thought, "What are the common attributes of these action heroes?" Generally, they're lacking in any empathy, they're ruthless murderers, they're often alcoholics, they use violence toward everyone, they have no loving relationships. They're basically misogynistic, and they are almost monosyllabic. You can work out who's the opposite of that character. Somebody who's full of love, who has real relationships, who has kids, who's nostalgic, who cannot stop talking, and somebody who's kind of from a lower stratum of society. A complete embarrassment for his brother. Then, you kind of work it out logically: okay, this kind of guy would be a good comic foil to him. It all sounds quite mathematical, and less funny, doesn't it? Doesn't sound very funny. That's the problem with comedy, it becomes very unfunny when you're talking about it."
Clive Tyldesley: The real life ITV soccer football commentator as a soccer broadcaster and billed as Football Announcer #1.
Andy Townsend: The real life former Republic of Ireland international soccer footballer and ITV sports presenter as a soccer broadcaster and billed as Football Announcer #2.