Trivia: In the final confrontation between Dollarhyde and Graham, Tom Noonan had to lie in a pool of stage blood for several hours as the crew worked on other shots. After all this time, the stage blood dried into a thick, cement-like adhesive that all but fused Noonan to the carpet.
Trivia: Because his role was so emotionally exhausting, William Petersen did everything he could to rid himself of the Will Graham character after principal photography was completed. This included shaving off his beard, and cutting his hair and dyeing it blonde.
Trivia: Michael Mann originally wanted Francis Dollarhyde to have William Blake's "The Great Red Dragon" tattooed on his back, but discarded the idea after deciding said tattoo trivialized Dollarhyde's personal struggles. When Ralph Fiennes played Dolarhyde in Red Dragon, director Brett Ratner decided to include the tattoo.
Trivia: While Manhunter was being shot (with Brian Cox as Lecktor), Anthony Hopkins was playing King Lear on stage at the National Theatre. Five years later, during the production of "The Silence of the Lambs," when Hopkins took over the role, Brian Cox was playing Lear at the same theatre.
Trivia: To get himself into character, Tom Noonan asked that none of the cast members, either people who are after him or whom he is after, be allowed to see him. The first time Noonan met William Petersen is the scene in which Will Graham crashes through the window of Dollarhyde's house. Noonan admits that, because of his request, the atmosphere on set became so tense, people actually became afraid of him. Noonan also asked that those crew members who were allowed to see him refer to him as "Francis."
Trivia: Dolarhyde's pose and the blood stains underneath him after he has been killed mimic the painting "The Red Dragon." Originally, his obsession with that painting was included from the source novel, but was dropped from the final version of the film.
Trivia: While Will Graham is on the tree, he sees a carving of a Chinese character on the trunk. That character is pronounced zhong in Mandarin, and it means center or middle.
Chosen answer: He wears the stocking over his face for two reasons: (a) to protect his identity (to make Lounds think he'll survive) and (b) remember that Francis believes he is an "ugly monster" so he is also wearing the stocking to defer judgement away from him.
xxCadyxx