The studio wanted Chuck Norris or Jean-Claude Van Damme to play the role of Eddy Kay. Avi Nesher fought to keep Michael Biehn and Biehn even took a pay cut to show his dedication to the picture.
It was on this film that Michael Biehn learned from producer Rafaella DeLaurentiis that his likeness was being used without his permission for 'Alien 3". DeLaurentiis had passed through the set of "Alien 3" while she was in England and had seen the fake Biehn torso that was to be used for the film. When Biehn found out, his agents contacted the production and asked that the actor be compensated for the use of his image. Biehn was later paid.
Michael Biehn went through intense military training, some sort of a scaled-down Israeli Defense Forces version of the U.S. Army SEALS' dreaded "Hell Week", which included drawing a gun, cocking and shooting under three seconds. Biehn would wake up every day five o'clock in the morning and train for ten hours. An Israeli psychiatrist also trained the lead actor to express different kinds of anxiety, from mild discomfort to full-fledged attack.
When other more well-known action stars were being eyed for the film, MGM were willing to spend $10 million on the budget.
When Michael Biehn was told that Patsy Kensit had been cast as psychiatrist Anna Nolmar, he thought it was strange casting because she was only about 22 years old at the time.