To prepare for his role, Michael Douglas had to get fit. First, Douglas started running twenty minutes a day building it up to 50-60 miles a week. Douglas gave up smoking two packets of cigarettes a day and lost 12 lbs in weight. He would start running at 6.30 am each day in the Beverly Hills canyons.
Michael Douglas has said that during the filming of The China Syndrome (1979) he had been in bad physical shape.
Footage from the Marathon race in the 1976 Montreal Olympics was used for this movie.
Around the time of its theatrical release, Michael Douglas once said of running for this film: "Nirvana does not come every morning but its a good way to lose weight. I sleep better, except when I over-do it, then I have a restless sleep. But I haven't been in such good shape since high-school. I've a better disposition - you must have noticed that! More energy, more stamina and my mind is much sharper."
Eugene Levy: As Michael Douglas's friend, Ritchie Rosenberg. This was the American Pie (1999) star's third theatrical film. An early role for Levy, he is seen with an afro.
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