When Denzel Washington was approached to star in “Se7en”, David Fincher had not yet been confirmed as director – although that would not have helped influence the actor. At that point, Fincher’s only major Hollywood feature was “Alien 3,” which by all accounts was a nightmare to shoot and ultimately disappointed critics. Other than that, he had only directed music videos. That doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of summary that would have convinced Denzel, especially since the storyline of “Se7en” itself was the main problem.
Question from Jamie Foxx (for Thriller) in 2018, if he had ever said no to a film he should have accepted, Washington named “Se7en” and said: “They wanted me to play the role of Brad Pitt. I found the script too demonic. Then I saw the movie, I was like, ‘Oh, I missed it.'”
In all honesty, Denzel saw the version of the film that New Line wanted audiences to see. Fincher originally wanted to forgo William Somerset’s final redeeming phrase that the world was “worth saving” and cut to black after David Mills shot John Doe. If this was the version of the script Denzel saw, then you can’t really blame him for describing it as “demonic.” It’s also an interesting descriptor in that it alludes to the actor’s faith, which he frequently brings to his roles, writing an ominous biblical phrase from Romans 6:23 on his script for “Training Day “. Obviously, the actor’s understanding of theology comes into play significantly when reading scripts and considering projects.
Yet no matter how “demonic” the storyline for “Se7en” seemed, Denzel has since seemed to regret his decision to pass on the film. The actor spoke to CTV Newssaying it was a “mistake” to turn down Mills’ role, adding, “I was like, ‘Man, this is just too much.’ Then I saw it and I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ was for Brad all the time.” And Washington himself eventually played a detective searching for a demonic killer, when he starred in the 1998 horror film “Fallen.”
It’s interesting to think about how Denzel’s career would have gone if he had starred in Fincher’s crime thriller. That said, I’m perfectly happy to live in the timeline with the versions of “Se7en” and “Training Day” that we know and love.
