Reserved order

So Manhunter is a mediocre movie at best, but casting in the movie is pretty interesting. Joan Allen and Brian Cox are in the movie, and they are recognized as two of best actors today; however, neither of them played the main character in Manhunter. Brian Cox only shows up in selected scenes and Joan Allen only shows up in the last 30 minutes of the movie. The main character, Will Graham, is played by William L. Petersen. William L. Petersen has had a fair success in TV, but he's never become a big star, nor is he recognized as one of best actors today. Most movie fans recognize Joan Allen and Brian Cox today, and in fact, there are probably a fair number of Joan Allen and Brian Cox fans, but I don't think that there are many William L. Petersen fans (I have nothing against him personally). What is interesting is that Joan Allen plays the main character in The Contender in 2000, 14 years after Manhunter was released (The Contender did all right in the box office, and Allen received her first lead actress Oscar nomination). William L. Petersen is also in the movie, and he plays a smaller character. Actor order has completely reserved over the 14 years.