The Big Picture

• Denzel Washington and David Fincher almost collaborated on the film Se7en, but Washington turned down the role due to the shocking and demonic material in the script.
• Brad Pitt's performance in Se7en was a career turning point, allowing him to break free from his "golden boy" image and establish himself as a serious actor.
• The missed opportunity of a Denzel Washington-David Fincher collaboration is disheartening for film enthusiasts, as their shared expertise in elevated thrillers and crime dramas would have made them a fitting duo.

The reality that Denzel Washington and David Fincher, two of the most accomplished figures in their respective craft, have never worked together is both surpriisng and upsetting to cinephiles. Over the last 30 years, Washington's impeccable screen presence in projects including Training Day, The Pelican Brief, Flight, and The Equalizer has simultaneously made him a gifted actor and a beloved movie star. Fincher, with his postmodern take on familiar thrillers and probing examinations of obsession and sociopathy with movies such as Zodiac, Gone Girl, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is one of the most celebrated auteurs working today. At pivotal moments in their careers in the mid 1990s, Washington and Fincher nearly converged to make Se7en, the director's breakthrough film, but Washington turned it down.

Denzel Washington and David Fincher Were at Pivotal Moments in Their Careers

Washington and Fincher, who have both released new films in 2023, (The Equalizer 3 and The Killer, respectively) announced themselves around the same period. Washington, off the heels of winning an Academy Award for his performance in Glory, quickly ascended to leading man status, appearing in Malcolm X, Philadelphia, and Crimson Tide, where he worked with the best directors and actors in the business. If Washington was on the upswing, Fincher was on the downswing before his career even picked up momentum. Called up from the music video field, Fincher's first break in Hollywood was of grave responsibility, where he would direct Alien³, which was a troublesome production that forever stands as a frustrating experience for the filmmaker.

Fincher, now recognized as one of the most stringent and perfectionist directors in history, vowed to make a film where he possessed complete autonomy. His follow-up to taking the helm of a major franchise was Se7en, a script by Andrew Kevin Walker. The film follows the gruesome investigation of a string of murders connected to the Seven Deadly Sins of Christian teachings by William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and David Mills (Brad Pitt). Somerset is the seasoned vet retiring at the end of the week, while Mills is a hot-shot young detective recently transferred to Homicide. While contemporaneous reviews were mixed, the film was a surprise box office hit, earning over $320 million worldwide. Since its release over 25 years ago, Se7en has been embraced as one of the best crime films in modern history, celebrated for its bleak tone, harrowing imagery, and macabre twist ending.

Pitt, a matinée idol who charmed moviegoers in the early '90s in Thelma and Louise and Legends of the Fall, sought to break free from his "golden boy" image. The gritty role of David Mills cemented Pitt's title as a "character actor inside a leading man's body." Upon his delivery of the forever indelible, "what's in the box?!" Pitt immediately became a serious actor with credible dramatic chops. Before Pitt evolved his cinematic iconography, another actor, one more inherently prestigious and established as a dramatic star, was offered the role of Mills. Denzel Washington, who frequently portrayed police officers in movies, turned down this noir-thriller, because the experiences of this particular detective were just too shocking to stomach.

Denzel Washington Was Disturbed by the Shocking Material in 'Se7en'

"I was like, man, it's just too much," said Washington at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014. The actor, who was promoting The Equalizer, was overwhelmed by the ghastly material within the script. During an interview with Jamie Foxx, Washington cited that Se7en's script was "too demonic." He was also apprehensive about working with a director with limited experience on the big screen. His rejection of the role was not something he is proud of. After watching the film, he realized that this was a miscalculation on his part, and openly regrets not accepting the role. Despite his chagrin, Washington said "Evidently it wasn't for me, it was for Brad all the time," and still appreciated the final product on the screen. For Washington, the film's excellence did not translate onto the page.

At the end of the day, Se7en panned out exceptionally, and was a monumental career turning point for Brad Pitt. David Mills, who was cocky, brazen, and often thickheaded, was a challenging role for Pitt. He successfully stripped down his movie star sheen, and set himself up for future dramatic roles in Fight Club, Inglourious Basterds, and Moneyball. We should be grateful for how the casting of Se7en transpired, but the tease of a Denzel Washington-David Fincher collaboration is enticing. Considering that the two have prolifically operated in similar genres (elevated thrillers and crime dramas) this pairing would have been suitable. In this dream film partnership, a fascinating hypothetical pertains to Washington's reaction to Fincher's incessant demand for takes when filming a scene. Considering that the actor has evoked a no-nonsense and grounded approach to the art of acting in interviews, Fincher demanding a 100th take for a scene counters Washington's general attitude.

Engaging in "casting what-ifs" is a fun exercise to partake in, especially when it involves a sliding door moment of this magnitude. Who's to say how greatly this would have affected the careers of Denzel Washington and David Fincher, but the lost opportunity for cinematic brilliance is sure to linger in the minds of the film community. Fortunately, there is still time to make up for this lost dream.

Se7en is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

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