James Earl Jones was interviewed about portraying a fictional black U.S. president a few days before Barack Obama was sworn in as President. Jones said that he had misgivings about the film, mostly because they were blindsided when the project (which was planned and budgeted as a TV movie) was released in theaters, and he wished that they'd had more time and resources to make a stronger final film.
Originally made for television, but released theatrically instead. A "Publisher's Weekly" article from 1972 claimed that the decision was due to the quality of the film, but contemporary sources claimed that the controversial elements scared off potential sponsors.
Although they played father and daughter in THE MAN, James Earl Jones was only two years older than Janet MacLachlan in real life.
This was originally announced for Sidney Poitier in 1965.