To help prepare for his role, Al Pacino spent time with then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins.
Marlon Brando was considered for the role of Mayor John Pappas. Brando made numerous bizarre suggestions for his character including for him to be an active member of a bongo club and to have a pet parrot who would always accompany him. When Paul Schrader pointed out to Brando that his suggestions were causing the story to stray away from being about New York politics, Brando replied "No one gives a damn about New York politics, we have a guy with a bongo club and a parrot, let's get rid of the politics!".
In the theater lobby, when Mayor Pappas asks Frank Anselmo what he thought of the musical play, Anselmo replies, "Good act. No voice. My Nettie could sing better." Nettie Anselmo, Frank Anselmo's wife, was played by Roberta Peters, a famous opera singer.
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