Henry Silva broke Steven Seagal's nose in the final fight scene. Seagal was rushed to the hospital. The next day Seagal was back at work. He stayed up all night icing it, so that he wouldn't get a black eye.
The pictures in the opening credits, including the one of baby Nico, are real pictures of Steven Seagal in his youth.
When Daniel Faraldo auditioned for his role, Andrew Davis thought he was too small to intimidate Steven Seagal. Seagal suggested Faraldo try to scare him, so he tried to break a chair over Seagal's back. He got the part.
Steven Seagal declared in an interview that among his first five film roles, Nico Toscani was his favorite character to play.
After the film opened, aikido experienced a boom worldwide. Steven Seagal's Los Angeles dojo was struggling before the movie. Afterward, it sold out all its classes.
Andrew Davis: [cast] Ron Dean and Joseph F. Kosala also appeared in Il codice del silenzio (1985), Il fuggitivo (1993), and Reazione a catena (1996).