The Character ...

Having already brutally murdered two families - The Leeds and The Jacobis, Francis is operating on a "lunar cycle" and has already carefully planned his third attack. The next victims have been chosen and, as we join the Red Dragon story, he is merely waiting for the next full moon ...

In Manhunter, the part of Francis Dolarhyde ("Dollarhyde" in Manhunter) was expertly played by character actor and Director Tom Noonan (The Monster Squad, The Pledge, RoboCop 2) For more information on Tom's work, I recommend a quick visit to his official site

The Performer ...

Despite being oddly labelled as an "unknown" by Director Brett Ratner, many film fans around the world will already be familiar with the stunning performances to date from English actor Ralph Fiennes. Twice Oscar® nominated (for "Schindler's List" and "The English Patient"), Fiennes is the older brother of fellow actor Joseph Fiennes ("Shakespeare in Love") and Director Martha Fiennes ("Onegin")

Fiennes' career took off when Steven Spielberg cast him as Amon Goeth in "Schindler's List" (1993) and he has delivered memorable performances since, particularly in "Quiz Show" (1994), "Strange Days" (1995) and of course "The English Patient" (1996). He also took the lead in the disasterous "The Avengers" (1998), but let's not talk about that here ... !

Although many have questioned the casting of Fiennes for the challenging role of Dolarhyde, I will be surprised if he fails to deliver yet another impressive performance in Red Dragon.

Trivia ...

• Fiennes was not first choice for Dolarhyde. Nicolas Cage was originally considered !
• Hollywood star and director Sean Penn was also at one time linked with the part.
• Many reviews have singled-out Fiennes as being the strongest performer in Red Dragon.
• "Dolarhyde" is the correct spelling from the original book.
• For Manhunter, the name is incorrectly spelt as "Dollarhyde" for some reason.

Updates and connected links ...

• Tom Noonan - the official web site
• "Ralph Fiennes joins the cast" - article.