Lynn-Holly Johnson was cast after she was brought to the attention of the filmmakers by "Ice Capades" executive Michael Kirbay and ice-skating coach John Nicks. Johnson, who was on tour with the Ice Capades show, flew to Minnesota for a script reading and to perform some ice-skating. Johnson then flew back to the show then a week later flew to Toronto, Canada for a screen-test. Johnson landed the role and signed on not long after this.
Lynn-Holly Johnson says she was repeatedly pressured to do a nude scene in this film, which she refused to do. She says this incident makes her laugh and say "if you only knew!" whenever someone tells her what a great family film this movie was.
Feature film debut of ice-skater actress Lynn-Holly Johnson. The athlete turned actress received an 'introducing' credit on movie posters.
For the Regional Championships competition scenes, real U.S. Figure Skating Association judges and music coordinators played themselves.
After this movie, skater-actress Lynn-Holly Johnson appeared in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only (1981) where she had a supporting role as ice-skater Bibi Dahl. Before Ice Castles (1978), Johnson had both skating and acting experience which contributed to her getting the lead role in the movie. Johnson had previously appeared in television commercials and in stage productions such as "The Miracle Worker".