David Bradley claims that he had lobbied the producers to have his and Michael Dudikoff's characters work in tandem throughout the film, but his efforts were frustrated when Dudikoff agreed to appear only on the condition that his character would save the day on his own, and clearly be shown to be the superior fighter.
Kely McClung, who plays the masked lead antagonist SuperNinja, also cameos as the first member of the Delta force to be killed by the ninjas in the opening scene.
In an interview, Kely McClung revealed that, during a fight scene with Michael Dudikoff, he threw a spin kick that Dudikoff did not realize was coming, noticing this when he was already committed and unable to stop the kick. Rather than severely injure the star of the film, McClung moved his leg in such a way that damaged one of the expensive cameras used to shoot the scene, but the filmmakers gifted him with a steak dinner regardless, grateful to have had only a damaged camera and not an injured star of the film.
Kely McClung doubled many of the actors in the film during fight scenes, such as the fight in the junkyard, when Joe takes on some of the fighters after arriving in Sulfur Springs (McLung's hair is different from Dudikoff's). In some cases, he alternated between doubling each party in one-on-one fights, effectively fighting himself.
Though they barely interact in this film, and there was much drama between the two actors, David Bradley once revealed in an interview that the two men knew each other from years earlier-before either had become actors-when both men worked out at one of Bruce Jenner's gyms in California.