Editing Road to Perdition (section)

===Casting===
Tom Hanks was sent a copy of the graphic novel by [[Steven Spielberg]] while he was filming ''[[Cast Away]]''. Initially too busy to make sense of the story, Hanks later received David Self's adapted screenplay, which he became attached to. Hanks, a father to four children, described Michael Sullivan's role, "I just got this guy. If you're a man, and you've got offspring ... emotionally, it's devastating."<ref name="Killer"/>

Tyler Hoechlin was chosen from over 2,000 candidates to portray Michael Sullivan's son.<ref name="Killer" /> The actor was 13 years old while filming. In scenes in which Hoechlin's character assists his father as a getaway driver, Hoechlin is trained by a driving instructor.<ref name="Circa"/>

Paul Newman was unanimously the first choice for the role of John Rooney.<ref name="Power"/> The actor prepared by requesting [[Frank McCourt]], the Irish-American author of ''[[Angela's Ashes]]'', to record a tape of his voice.<ref name="Killer"/>

David Self, who created the Maguire character, explained, "He gets so jaded from exposure to this world, he steps over the line from being the storyteller to being the story maker."<ref name="Self">{{cite news | author=Teofilo, Anthony | title=On the Road to Perdition | url=http://www.asitecalledfred.com/perdition/2.html | work=ASiteCalledFred | access-date=2010-04-24 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100515235952/http://www.asitecalledfred.com/perdition/2.html | archive-date=2010-05-15 }}</ref> To capture the "seedy countenance" of the character, Jude Law was given a sallow skin tone that reflected the wear from working in a darkroom. Law's teeth also received a lower gumline and had a rotted look.<ref name="Circa"/> Law was also given a weak, thinning hairline. Maguire's apartment also displays a collection of photographs of dead bodies, some of them actual police stills from the 1930s.<ref name="Fathers"/>

Stanley Tucci was selective about roles in gangster films, believing that Hollywood stereotyped [[Italian-American]]s as gangsters. However, attracted by the prospect of working with Mendes, the actor accepted the role of Nitti, a real-life Mob boss from Chicago.<ref>{{cite news|author=O'Connor, Clint|title=Out of Season|work=[[The Plain Dealer]] | date=2002-07-07}}</ref>

[[Anthony LaPaglia]] was cast as Al Capone and filmed a single scene, which was omitted from the final cut,<ref>{{cite web | title=Capone chats with Max Allan Collins about why he isn't in ROAD TO PERDITION!!! | url=http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=12122 | work=[[Ain't It Cool News]] | date=2002-04-26 | access-date=2007-06-06}}</ref> and can be found in the DVD's deleted scenes.<ref>{{cite news | author=Woodward, Tom | url=http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/dvd/road-to-perdition-dts-edition.html | title=Road to Perdition: DTS Edition | work=DVDActive.com | access-date=2007-06-12 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328074814/http://www.dvdactive.com/reviews/dvd/road-to-perdition-dts-edition.html | archive-date=2012-03-28 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Mendes believed that Capone was more menacing as an unseen presence. Actor [[Alfred Molina]] was approached to portray Capone, but Molina was forced to turn the role down due to scheduling conflicts with ''[[Frida (2002 film)|Frida]]'' (2002).<ref>{{cite news|author=Henerson, Evan|title=The Understudy|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=2002-01-15}}</ref>