Editing Cobra (1986 film) (section)

===Casting===
[[Brian Thompson (actor)|Brian Thompson]] auditioned seven times before he was hired. On the fourth audition he met Stallone, who thought that Thompson was too nice to play the Night Slasher. But after a screen test, he immediately got the job. Also, in the original script, the Night Slasher was called [[Abaddon]], possibly after the "angel of the abyss" from the Bible.

Thompson repeatedly sought Stallone's advice about how to play the Night Slasher, including questions about his background and personal motivations, but Stallone showed no interest in the subject and told Thompson that the character was simply evil. In an unfortunate surprise for Thompson, after filming was completed, director Cosmatos unexpectedly told him: "You could have been good if you had listened to me."

Stallone acknowledged ''[[Dirty Harry]]'' as an influence<ref name="Siskel-1986-05-18" /> and ''Cobra'' reunited two actors from the film: [[Reni Santoni]] and [[Andrew Robinson (actor)|Andy Robinson]].

Brigitte Nielsen, Stallone's then-wife who he had met filming ''[[Rocky IV]]'', was cast as Ingrid Knudsen.<ref name="Scott" /><ref name="Siskel-1986-05-18" />