Gene Hackman Said No to Se7en — And His Reason Is Nonsense
Gene Hackman had no shortage of job offers. By the mid-90s, the man was a two-time Oscar winner, a box office draw, and widely considered one of the greatest living actors.
He also had a reputation for being, let's say, selective. Stories from the set of Get Shorty suggest he didn't exactly suffer fools lightly. So when David Fincher approached him for a role in Se7en, you'd think the bleak tone or gruesome subject matter might have scared him off. Not quite.
Hackman's reason for turning it down? He didn't want to work at night.
Fincher, in a 2024 interview with the Los Angeles Times, recalled their meeting:
"I met with Gene and he said, 'It sounds like there's a lot of night shoots.'
I think we had a 40-minute conversation. And I said, 'Yeah, there is.'
He said, 'Count me out.'
So, that was that."
That was that, indeed. Never mind the script, the director, the cast, or the chance to play one of the most iconic detectives in modern cinema. Hackman heard "night shoots" and walked.
To be fair, Se7en wasn't the only thing on his plate. He was already booked solid in 1995:
- Get Shorty, where he clashed with Barry Sonnenfeld on set.
- The Quick and the Dead, opposite Sharon Stone in a pulpy Western directed by Sam Raimi.
- Crimson Tide, a submarine thriller with Denzel Washington that's still one of Tony Scott's best.
So no, he wasn't desperate for roles. But still — turning down Se7en because he didn't want to be awake past 10 p.m.?
Let's be honest: night shoots are miserable. They wreck your sleep, your brain, and your will to live. But so do most things in a David Fincher movie. That's kind of the point. This wasn't a sitcom pilot. This was Se7en — a grimy, rain-soaked horror story about the decay of everything good. The role of Somerset eventually went to Morgan Freeman, and the rest is morbid, nihilistic, rain-drenched history.
Hackman's refusal doesn't ruin his legacy, but it sure is a head-scratcher. Out of all the roles to reject on principle, this one? Because of the lighting schedule?
One of the greatest actors alive passed on one of the greatest thrillers ever made — because he liked going to bed on time. Make of that what you will.