Marshall R. Teague initially didn't get along with Patrick Swayze. While filming their big fight, both men quickly realized they shared a dedication to realistic stunts. They developed so much mutual trust that they improvised a lot, and allowed each other to throw real punches and kicks. When Jimmy swings a log at Dalton, Teague mistakenly thought it was a breakable prop log. By the end, Swayze was covered in bruises, with two broken ribs and a busted knee.
Patrick Swayze hurt a knee during filming. He chose to make Ghost (1990) next because it was less strenuous, turning down the roles of Gabriel Cash in Tango & Cash (1989) and Mike Harrigan in Predator 2 (1990).
Patrick Swayze considered Road House to be a modern day western with Dalton being the gunfighter for hire and Brad Wesley being the local bully.
The film's original tagline referenced Patrick Swayze's success in Dirty Dancing (1987), "The dancing's over. Now it gets dirty."
According to Sam Elliott, all of the actors did their own stunts, "I fucking got the shit kicked out of me for the entire film." They were all trained by Benny Urquidez, a holder of nine black belts in nine different disciplines. Urquidez believed so much in Patrick Swayze's abilities, that he suggested Swayze become a competitive kickboxer.