Director Dennis Hopper once said of working with star Don Johnson on this film in a 1990 interview with 'The Guardian': "He wasn't that bad. He has a lot of people with him. He came on to this film with two bodyguards, a cook, a trainer, ah let's see, a helicopter pilot he comes to and from the set in a helicopter, very glamorous let's see, two drivers, a secretary, and, oh yes, his own hair person, his own make-up person, his own wardrobe person. So when he walks to the set he has five people with him."
Virginia Madsen was supposed to appear naked in a bedroom scene, but she decided to put on a negligee because she felt that, 'Not only was the nudity weak storywise, but it didn't let the audience undress her'. Dennis Hopper later admitted that Madsen was right.
The part of as Gloria Harper was originally cast with actress Uma Thurman but in the end the role went to actress Jennifer Connelly.
Dennis Hopper, at the time of the film's release, blamed stars Don Johnson and Virginia Madsen for the poor box office performance of the film. Hopper said of Johnson: "He says he's not going to do anything for this picture until he reads the reviews." Johnson claimed he was so busy shooting Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) with Mickey Rourke that he did not have time to promote "The Hot Spot". Madsen, Hopper explained, was "very embarrassed" by her amount of on-screen nudity.
In part of the nude skinny-dipping scene, Virginia Madsen was body doubled by Heather Cruikshank, who was working in a strip joint when she was cast. In the scene, Cruikshank runs naked into a pond to meet Johnson. She said the set was cleared of everyone except essential members of the film crew and her boyfriend, whom she brought along for support. "Johnson at one point was standing on the bank before the scene saying, 'I'm not responsible for what happens when I get in the water.' And my boyfriend turned to him and said, 'Of course as long as you know I'm not responsible for what happens when you get out of the water,' " she recalled. She had to do the scene about six times and head-to-toe body makeup was applied to her after each shot.