25 Things You Didn’t Know About Se7en
9. The 'Sloth' Victim Had One Of The Harder Victim Roles To Play
A fibreglass dummy wouldn’t work for the victim of the ‘Sloth’ attack, however - because the drug dealer and paedophile that John Doe straps to a bed for twelve months is supposed to be alive (if barely) when the police find him.
Fincher needed someone cheap and incredibly thin to play the role, and fortunately, when the unknown Michael Reid MacKay auditioned he weighed 96 pounds. He was asked to lose a little more, but sensibly demurred, as starving for your art isn’t as noble as people make it sound.
MacKay’s make-up took over fourteen hours to apply, so it's arguable that he wasn't necessarily acting when he was finally ready to head to set - and the actors playing the SWAT officers weren't told that he was supposed to be alive, so their reactions when he coughs are completely genuine.
So was his: “It was a totally emotional scene - the last take I was breathing very hard and crying. It was real heavy-duty.”