It’s common knowledge thatAntoine Fuqua’sThe Magnificent Sevenis a remake of the 1960 Western classic of the same name starringYul Brynner,Steve McQueen, andCharles Bronson, to name a few. Only slightly less well known is thatThe Magnificent Sevenis, itself, a movie originally inspired byAkira Kurosawa’s 1954 dramaSeven Samurai. But just as directorJohn Sturgesswapped in a septet of cowboys and rogues in place of wandering samurai, so has Fuqua opted to change the lineup in his own version.
But just what does that lineup look like? Well if you’ve paid attention to any of the marketing material, you know thatDenzel WashingtonandChris Prattlead the ensemble action piece that sees seven disparate Wild West gunslingers, knife-throwers, and bow-hunters hired by a small village to protect it from thieving company men. But beyond that, the ads have given us just the barest idea of who these men are and what skills they bring to the table. We aim to rectify that with the character guide that you can check out below before seeing the movie itself this weekend.
Denzel Washington as Sam Chisolm
To get an idea of how Fuqua’sThe Magnificent Sevenwill diverge from the films that came before it, you don’t have to look any further than the movie’s lead: Denzel Washington. As capable an actor as any, Washington takes on the mantle of leadership in this movie, just asTakashi Shimura’s ronin character Kambei Shimada and Yul Brynner’s Cajun gunslinger Chris Adams did before him.
“The character’s name is Sam Chisolm. He’s a duly sworn warrant officer from Wichita, Kansas,” Washington says of his character in a behind-the-scenes character vignette dubbed ‘The Bounty Hunter.’ In the video, which you can watch below, Fuqua adds, “He’s a bounty hunter, if you will, who goes after bad guys.”
Chisolm is a brand new take on the leader of the gang inThe Magnificent Seven, but as you’ll see in the remainder of this guide, Fuqua changed up more than just his leading man.
Chris Pratt as Josh Faraday
Chris Pratt, best known for his comedic performances inParks and Recreationbefore making the huge leap to blockbuster action films–likeGuardians of the Galaxy,Jurassic World, and the upcoming installments of those franchises–steps up as Chisolm’s right-hand man, Josh Faraday. The character, who’s part gambler, part womanizer, part trickster, and part sure-shot, is a combination ofDaisuke Katō’s loyal Shichirōji andToshiro Mifune’s humorous Kikuchiyo, or perhaps a slightly quippier version of Steve McQueen’s drifter, Vin Tanner.
“Faraday is a bit of a fox,” Pratt says of his character in ‘The Gambler’ vignette. “He’s a trickster. He’s a gambler, a drinker. He loves the ladies. But he’s deadly in a fire fight.” Washington also comments on his co-star, saying, “Chris, you know, a lot of talent on-screen. He’s really a good dude. I like him a lot.”
And in a chat withTHR, Fuqua revealed how Pratt came to get the part of Faraday:
Chris Pratt must have been getting offers for everything at that time. How did he come onboard?
The hardest thing was who would play [the role played by] Steve McQueen [in the original] because he was like the coolest guy in the world. I heard Chris loved Westerns and we talked about it. He was flirting with other stuff. Then he called me a few days later and he started singing “Oh Shenandoah” on the phone. I said “He’s it. He’s Steve McQueen.”
Ethan Hawke as Goodnight Robicheaux
With another veteran on the cast in the form ofEthan Hawke, who plays Goodnight Robicheaux, a Confederate sharpshooter with a cross to bear,The Magnificent Sevenhas experience in spades. This contemporary take differentiates itself from the earlier films by having Hawke portray a more haunted and tormented character who’s nonetheless talented; his skills are highly sought after by Chisolm and Faraday. Hawke revealed that Fuqua’s idea for this character saw him as a Civil War version ofChristopher Walken’s character inThe Deer Hunter,“just a shattered person.”
Like Washington, Hawke has worked with Fuqua twice before, though it was a fortuitous run-in atThe Equalizer’s New York premiere that gave them the opportunity to collaborate once more. Hawke signed on as soon as the project got the green light,the first actor to do so. See how Robicheaux got on board in this character vignette:
Vincent D’Onofrio as Jack Horne
Vincent D’Onofriois another veteran on this cast who gets to show off his chops in a juicy role as Jack Horne, a tracker who wears animal skins and furs. With his chosen weapon–a tomahawk–and an unwavering religious faith, Horne lends the team his skills in order to track down their quarry. Horne’s years of experience also come in rather handy in a fight.
Here’s what D’Onofrio had to say about his character, who’s received as a bit of a joke by the others at first, in this behind-the-scenes look:
“I come in because two guys robbed me of what little stuff I have left in the mountains. My guy looks like a guy who used to have a life and has become a little rough around the edges since then.”
Byung-hun Lee as Billy Rocks
Barely recognizable in his Western garb, Korean starByung-hun Lee(whom you might recognize best from his role of Storm Shadow in theG.I. Joemovies) brings another layer of diversity to Fuqua’s cast. Just as Horne prefers the tomahawk, Lee’s assassin Billy Rocks is deadly with knives. There’s a nice nod back to the famous quickdraw gun vs knife scene from the 1960 film, one that showcases Lee’s character’s particular skills. But since you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight, Billy Rocks is also quite talented with pistols and rifles as well.
Check out those skills on display in this behind-the-scenes character profile:
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Vasquez
You may have seen relative newcomerManuel Garcia-Rulfoon TV inFrom Dusk Till Dawn: The Seriesor in this year’s releaseTerm Life, but you’ll certainly notice him as one of Fuqua’s Seven. Playing the Mexican outlaw Vasquez, Garcia-Rulfo’s character has evaded the law for quite some time when Chisolm’s gang catches up with him. But for a man with no family and nothing to lose, bringing him into their fold is going to be easier said than done. Garcia-Rulfo described him as follows:
“Vasquez loves gunfighting. He has always been a bandit, a robber, a criminal. he’s been on the run for several months.”
And Fuqua reveals a fun behind-the-scenes bit of trivia that led to one of Vasquez’s character traits:
“During the dress rehearsal, he would walk in and he would take the guns out and he would just spin ‘em. I was like, ‘He’s like a bullfighter.'”
You can see Vasquez in action in this behind-the-scenes look:
Martin Sensmeier as Red Harvest
Rounding out Fuqua’s title team isMartin Sensmeier, an American actor of Tlingit, Koyukon-Athabascan, and Irish descent. Previously appearing in the TV seriesSalemand this year’sWestworldseries on HBO, Sensmeier stars here as Red Harvest, a Comanche sharpshooter. In a flip of the script, he’s actually been tracking the other six members of the team and, thanks to some quick thinking on Chisolm’s part, soon becomes a part of the team itself.
It wasn’t that easy for Sensmeier, however, whorepeatedly auditioned for the role. His study and hard work paid off since he not only landed the role, he had the opportunity to craft his character alongside Fuqua:
Antoine Fuqua, the director, worked to create a diverse cast. I helped to create the character with him. He gave me a lot of freedom to bring a lot to the character. He gave me an idea of what he wanted and then he let me put it through my own filter.
I am incredibly honored to be in a position to fulfill a role like that. I committed to being there. A great wrangler Scotty Augare–he is Blackfeet–taught me to ride bareback, he worked onDances with Wolves.I rode with him two hours a day and took it serious.
My dad told me that working as a storyteller is honoring my traditions, so I have to take it seriously.
