25 Things You Didn’t Know About Se7en

The showcase John Doe role was originally offered to Val Kilmer, who declined. R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe was also considered.

Oddly, the John Doe role in Se7en was almost played by Deliverance star Ned Beatty. Fincher’s first choice (largely because he supposedly looked like one of the men suspected to be the Zodiac Killer), Beatty had much the same reaction to Washington when he read the script: "I can’t do this. This is the most evil thing I’ve ever read."

Enter Kevin Spacey, who was still months away from anyone seeing him in the breakout movie roles that would make him such a hot commodity a year later. Apparently Spacey killed it at the audition, but was asking for too much money, so the casting call continued to go out as production on the movie began.

However, once again the suits didn’t reckon with Pitt. When he asked about the casting of their killer and saw Spacey’s tape, he asked Fincher why on earth the man didn’t have a contract and was told he was too expensive for New Line considering his lack of name status.

“F*ck that,” deadpanned the man that People Magazine had just crowned 1995’s Sexiest Man Alive, and made a phone call. Spacey was hired, and film history was made.

Funnily enough, character actor and former drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey also auditioned for the part - and after Spacey got the gig, Ermey was offered the part of the police captain instead.