‘A good man doing an extraordinary job’

WHEN director Antoine Fuqua was searching for the perfect actor to lead the band of brothers who fight against injustice in The Magnificent Seven, he knew he needed an iconic figure; a man who has “total gravitas on screen”. And he had just one name on his list: Denzel Washington ( pictured).

Fuqua had no idea if Washington would say “yes”, but the two share a powerful creative bond, a friendship, and a successful cinematic history and, after he pitched the idea, the actor was on board.

“Antoine and I have had great success,” says Washington. “We won our Academy Award with Training Day and had great financial success with The Equalizer. He’s a master filmmaker – he knows what he is doing and how to put films together and he allows me to do what it is I know how to do. I think we are a good fit.”

They are indeed. With Washington playing the role of Sam Chisolm, who recruits a group of outlaws to help protect a town from a tyrant, an all-star cast – including Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Vincent D’Onofrio – fell into place and the seven were ready to ride on to our screens.

Washington hasn’t seen the original film or Seven Samurai, the 1954 Akira Kurosawa film that inspired director John Sturges’s 1960 Western. He preferred, instead, to trust his instincts for a great story and concentrate on making their film with Fuqua and creating their own contemporary Western.

“I didn’t grow up watching movies, my father was a minister so we weren’t allowed to watch a lot of movies,” he recalls. “And I didn’t approach the character based on what people have said about the past movies because I don’t know how to play ‘mythical’. I just look at what the script gives me and what it says about this man in these circumstances.”

The story is timeless and powerful; a classic tale of good versus evil set to the majestic backdrop of the Old West.

A young woman, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) seeks out a loner, Sam Chisolm, after she sees him arresting the man he has been searching for. Emma pleads with him to help defend her town from a ruthless land baron, Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), and his henchmen.

Chisolm is haunted by tragic events in the past and has his reasons for accepting what could be a suicidal challenge.

“He has come to this town to do a job, but can see that the town is being taken over. And when Chisolm meets Emma, he can see her fire. I think he sees her resolve and determination to seek justice. He wasn’t able to serve justice in his own family and now has this desire to right wrongs.”

One by one he recruits the disparate band of men who will join the cause – Josh Faraday (Pratt), a hard-drinking gambler with an eye for the ladies and a gunslinger, Goodnight Robicheaux (Hawke), a sharp shooter, Jack Horne (D’Onofrio), a brilliant tracker, Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) an outlaw, Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), an expert with knives and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier) a Comanche warrior.

At first, they agree to fight simply for money, but when confronted with the harsh realities of what life is like under Bogue’s tyranny, they are willing to put their lives on the line and stand up for justice.

“The film starts with a scene where Bogue’s men are terrorising people and he burns the church down. So there’s a spiritual aspect to it, of good against evil, and Bogue personifies everything evil,” explains Washington. “They see how this evil man has broken the backs, spiritually, of these people and it makes us determined to do something about it.”

Chisolm is a classic from the Western genre – a conflicted loner with a troubled history, a hero who will step up and do the right thing.

“He’s a loner, he’s unafraid and he’s a master with his weapon, but he’s not a braggart. He’s a lonely man, an honourable and courageous man, everything I’m not,” he laughs. “He’s complicated and not used to dealing with people, especially a young girl like Emma, but when he finds out the circumstances and what’s involved, he has a particular purpose.”

The Magnificent Seven was a long, at times gruelling, shoot in high temperatures, with long days riding horses and filming action scenes. But it was fun, too, says Washington.

“It’s fun because we’re on our horses and all together and guys are talking, cracking jokes and spinning their guns. I never had the opportunity to do a Western.”

Washington and his fellow cast received weapons training from Thell Reed – the stuntman, armourer and exhibition shooter. Washington was fast on the draw – almost too fast.

“He would always tell me, ‘smooth is fast’. I have fast hands and I’ve been boxing for years. I’m just fast, but he was always telling me to slow down,” he laughs.

Washington was also delighted to be working with his cast members. “They are good men and a good young lady and I’m somewhat like this character in that I’m more of an outsider and maybe that’s right for this part. I didn’t hang out much with the fellas and that’s just sort of my nature.”

He did, though, share a few jokes with Pratt, star of Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World. “He’s a fine young man. He’s an ordinary man with an extraordinary job, that’s the way I like to look at it.”

You might say the same about Washington – a good man doing an extraordinary job, which made him perfect for The Magnificent Seven. – Sony Pictures International