The real reason Denzel Washington didn't star in David Fincher's Se7en

When Denzel Washington was tapped to star in Se7en, David Fincher hadn't yet been confirmed as director — not that it helped the actor. At that point, Fincher's only major Hollywood feature had been “Alien 3”, the reception of which was apparently a nightmare and ultimately disappointed critics. Other than that, he had only directed music videos. It doesn't seem like the kind of resume that would have convinced Denzel, especially since the main issue was the script for “Se7en” itself.

Asked by Jamie Foxx (for Trillist) in 2018, whether or not he'd ever said no to a movie he was supposed to agree to, Washington called Se7en and said, “They wanted me to play Brad Pitt. I thought the script was too demonic. Then I saw the movie, I was like, “Oh, I'd rock that.”

To be fair, Denzel saw the New Line version of the film that the public wanted to see. Originally, Fincher wanted to ditch the last line of William Somerset's redemption about the world being “worth saving” and make it black after David Mills shot John Doe. If this was the version of the script Denzel saw, then you can't blame him for describing it as “demonic.” It's also an interesting descriptor because it refers to the actor's faith, which he often uses in his roles, writing an ominous biblical phrase from Romans 6:23 on his “Training Day” script. Clearly, an actor's understanding of theology is greatly affected as he reads scripts and considers projects.

However, as “demonic” as the “Se7en” script seemed, Denzel has since seemed to regret his decision to pass on the film. The actor spoke CTV Newssaying it was a “mistake” to turn down the role of Mills, adding: “I was like, 'Man, that's too much.' Then I saw it and I was like, 'Oh my God.'” However, the actor seemed convinced that Brad Pitt was the man for the job, saying, “Obviously it wasn't for me. had Brad all along.” And Washington himself ended up playing a detective hunting a demonic killer when he appeared in 1998 horror film “Fallen”.

It is interesting to think about how Denzel's career would have developed if he had starred in Fincher's crime thriller. That said, I'm very happy to be living in a timeline with the versions of 'Se7en' and 'Training Day' that we know and love.