Paddy Considine and some of the crew visited a centre run by UK brain injury charity Headway in 2016 while preparing for and researching the role. Paddy spent time talking to their clients about their lives, both pre and post brain injury in order to grasp how their brain injuries had affected them. In the film, Matty displays some mannerisms that Paddy observed during the visit. They also made a donation of £500 to the charity.
Paddy Considine worked closely with a case study in Sheffield to learn the experiences of what life was like for the partner of a man with a brain injury, including some of the volatile situations they were in. Paddy found that very informative when it came to writing the structure for the second act of the film.
Considine plays Matty Burton. Considine was born and raised in a town in Staffordshire also called Burton (Burton-on-Trent). He also went to Burton College where he met now director; Shane Meadows.
During the filming of the final fight scene the extras in the crowd would boo the referee as he stepped into the ring, the extras were told in between takes by Richard varley that this was not common practice during a real boxing match.
The production crew borrowed some art from the Henley centre of UK brain injury charity Headway for use in the film. The art was created by clients of the centre who have suffered from brain injuries. This art can be seen in the background in scenes where Matty is going through physiotherapy.