During principal photography in Washington D.C., Mr. T spent some of his free time off-the-set visiting correctional facilities and childrens' hospitals.
Internationally, the film was a major hit. It was one of Poland's highest grossing comedies of all time, and won Best Comedic Picture in Turkey.
The cheerleaders in the closing credits were from the USFL Washington Federals football team, only in existence in 1983 and 1984.
In the original shot ending, Irene Cara sang the song 'The Dream' at The White House (where she mentions to Tyrone she was to perform earlier in the film) and arranges for all the cab drivers to be there to celebrate as a reward for their heroics. This was replaced with the parade scene after the original cut was shown to test audiences (and may explain why The Barbarian Brothers no longer have the beards their characters wore throughout the film)., but poster and album artwork and publicity shots show Cara singing in a red sparkly dress which was from the White House scene and not featured in the film.
Jim Carrey auditioned for the film. Director Joel Schumacher turned him down because he felt Carrey was too talented to be in an ensemble. Schumacher would later work with Carrey on Batman Forever.