Face/Off Werb and Michael Colleary tried to sell to a studio from as early as 1990. The first actors who were chosen to play Sean Archer and Castor Troy were Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger respectively but John Woo instead hired John Travolta and Nicolas Cage to play those characters. It took numerous studios, producers and rewrites before John Woo became attached several years later. For the Archer character, Woo considered casting either Michael Douglas or Jean-Claude Van Damme with whom he had worked in "Hard Target". When the film was eventually made, Douglas served as an executive producer. Werb and
Nick Loren Nick Loren Nick Loren (born December 14, 1970) is an American actor, singer-songwriter, producer, and professional stunt double. He has been the professional stunt double for John Travolta and an accredited actor in over 17 films including "From Paris with Love", "Old Dogs", "Wild Hogs", "Hairspray", "A Love Song for Bobby Long", "Be Cool", "Swordfish", and "Face/Off". Loren has been featured on "Entertainment Tonight", "The Insider", "The Hollywood Reporter", AdAge.com, , "Dateline NBC", "Eye on LA", as well as many morning shows and magazines. In February 1996 Loren met actor John Travolta while working as a stand-in on the set