Denzel Washington has said he regrets declining a role in David Fincher’s 1995 thriller Se7en, having initially considered its script too “demonic”. The film became a major critical and commercial success, and its bleak serial-killer story is now widely regarded as a landmark of 1990s crime cinema.

Washington was reportedly offered the role of Detective David Mills, which ultimately went to Brad Pitt, alongside Morgan Freeman as Detective William Somerset. Se7en follows the detectives’ hunt for a murderer whose crimes are based on the seven deadly sins, and its disturbing tone, ending and performances helped establish its lasting reputation.