When Denzel Washington was approached to star in “Se7en,” David Fincher was yet to be confirmed as director — not that it would have helped sway the actor. At that point, Fincher’s only major Hollywood feature had been was “Alien 3,” which by all accounts was a nightmare to shoot and ultimately disappointed critics. Other than that, he’d only directed music videos. That doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of résumé that would have convinced Denzel, especially since the script for “Se7en” itself was the main issue.
Asked by Jamie Foxx (for Thrillist) back in 2018 whether he’d ever said no to a film he should have agreed to, Washington named “Se7en” and said, “They wanted me to play the Brad Pitt part. I thought the script was too demonic. Then I saw the movie, I was like, ‘Oh, I blew it.'”Â
In fairness, Denzel saw the version of the film New Line wanted the public to see. Originally, Fincher wanted to forgo William Somerset’s redeeming final line about the world being “worth saving,” and cut to black after David Mills shoots John Doe. If this was the version in the script seen by Denzel, then you can’t really blame him for describing it as “demonic.” It’s an interesting descriptor, too, 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.” Clearly the actor’s understanding of theology comes into play significantly when he’s reading scripts and considering projects.
Still, no matter how “demonic” the “Se7en” screenplay seemed, Denzel has seemed regretful of his decision to pass on the film ever since. The actor spoke to CTV News, saying it was a “mistake” to decline the role of Mills, adding, “I was like, ‘Man, it’s just too much.’ Then I saw it and I was like, ‘Oh God.”‘ The actor did, however, seem to convinced that Brad Pitt was the right man for the job in the end, saying, “Evidently it wasn’t for me, it was for Brad all the time.” And Washington himself did ultimately to play a detective hunting a demonic killer, when he starred in the 1998 horror movie “Fallen.”
It’s interesting to think about how Denzel’s career would have played out had he starred in Fincher’s downer of a crime thriller. That said, I’m perfectly happy to live in the timeline with the versions of “Se7en” and “Training Day” we know and love.