beat generation, as they were viewed as mildly threatening to small-town values during that time. An outsider himself, he is among the first to recognize the Giant as no threat. Before Connick was cast, Matthew Broderick, Steve Martin, John Cusack and Robin Williams were all considered. Vin Diesel as the Iron Giant, a 50 ft., metal-eating robot. Of unknown origin and created for an unknown purpose, the Giant involuntarily reacts defensively if he recognizes anything as a weapon, immediately attempting to destroy it. The Giant's voice was originally going to be electronically modulated but the filmmakers decided they "needed a deep, resonant and expressive voice to start with," so they hired Diesel. James Gammon as Foreman Marv Loach, a power station employee who follows the robot's trail after it destroys the station. Gammon also voices Floyd Turbeaux, a farmer and friend of Earl Stutz. Cloris Leachman as Karen Tensedge, Hogarth's fourth grade teacher at Redford Elementary School. Christopher McDonald as Kent Mansley, a paranoid federal government agent sent to investigate sightings of the Iron Giant. The logo on his official government car says he is from the "Bureau of Unexplained Phenomena". Before McDonald was cast, Tommy Lee Jones, Alec Baldwin, Burt Reynolds, Lance Henriksen, Kevin Spacey, James Woods, Dennis Hopper, Patrick McGoohan and Patrick Stewart were all considered. John Mahoney as General Shannon Rogard, an experienced and level-headed military leader in Washington, D.C. who openly hates Mansley. Before Mahoney was cast, R. Lee Ermey, Jack Nicholson and Kirk Douglas were considered. M. Emmet Walsh as Earl Stutz, a sailor and the first man to see the Giant. In addition, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas voice the train's engineer and fireman, briefly seen near the start of the film. Johnston and Thomas, who were animators and members of Disney's Nine Old Men, were cited by Bird as inspirations for his career, which he honored by incorporating their voices, likenesses, and even first names into the film. Production Development The origins of the film lie in the book The Iron Man (1968), by poet Ted Hughes, who wrote the novel for his children to comfort them in the wake of their mother Sylvia Plath's suicide. In the 1980s, rock musician Pete Townshend chose to adapt the book for a concept album; it was released as The Iron Man: A Musical in 1989. In 1991, Richard Bazley, who later became the film's lead