Tom Hanks had a tremendous 2002, but it could have been completely different had he accepted the offer to star in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York.
His performance in Catch Me If You Can was the most notable of that particular year, but it was his role as Michael Sullivan in Road to Perdition that ultimately hindered that possibility.
Hollywood’s quintessential modern “good guy” was supposed to be Bill “The Butcher” Cutting in the gangster period piece, which is an interesting casting choice, to say the least.
In hindsight, it was probably the best move for both productions, as it not only gave a riveting look into how the lovable Hanks could portray such a cold, calculating, but ultimately reluctant bad guy character in Sullivan, and gave Daniel Day-Lewis the opportunity to have an immaculate second run as an actor.
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