Mystery of eerie ‘what’s in the box’ Se7en ending revealed – and who ‘snapped’ during filming of iconic Brad Pitt film
BRAD Pitt’s body double on legendary movie Se7en has revealed for the first time ever how tensions boiled over on the set of its chilling “what’s in the box” final scene.
The neo-noir classic was released almost three decades ago in 1995 and helped turn Pitt, now 58, into one of the world’s biggest movie stars.
The Oscar-winner played a rookie detective who, with the help of a veteran partner brought to life by Morgan Freeman, hunts a serial killer on a murderous spree inspired by the seven deadly sins.
Se7en's star-studded cast also featured Gwyneth Paltrow, who became Pitt’s girlfriend at the time and played his wife in the film, and now scandal-hit Kevin Spacey.
The movie famously climaxes with a cliffhanger ending in the desert where Pitt’s character, detective David Mills, is sucker-punched with a box containing his murdered wife’s decapitated head.
Speaking publicly for the first time ever, Pitt’s body double Richie Varga gave a behind-the-scenes peek into the harsh conditions that went into creating that unforgettable movie moment.
The 51-year-old also shared never-before-seen photos he took on the set in Palmdale, a desert community north of LA.
Most read in Entertainment
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Richie said: “The shoot lasted three months but I only brought my camera on the last day of re-shoots, for the last desert scene.
“It was shot from sunup to sundown in extreme heat. I still have the call sheet for the day and it was 110 degrees.
“We were doing reshoots for the desert scene because the director, David Fincher, wasn't happy with the scene.
“He was able to go and get more money to do reshoots and get helicopter shots.
“He was really adamant about doing it and they finally got a budget so they brought everyone back.
“Kevin Spacey couldn't make it so they just had to make do with his double but Brad and Morgan Freeman were there.”
LOST HIS COOL
Richie, who now works in real estate, revealed that in the sweltering heat Fincher - who went on to direct other classics such as Fight Club and The Social Network - lost his cool.
He said: “The picture where David Fincher is talking to Brad by the power lines was a very memorable moment because David snapped on the crew.
“He was trying to talk to Brad to give him direction for a scene and everyone kept making noise on set.
“He was like 'Please be quiet’.
“No one listened so he was like ‘Shut up, please’.
“Finally people were making noise again, and he screamed ‘SHUT THE F*** UP!’ at the top of his lungs.
“I don’t blame him, he was trying to talk to his lead actor and get the movie finished.
“He’s such a perfectionist the reshoot took nine days.
“You can see in that picture of him with Brad how serious his mood is.”
After finishing Se7en, Richie went on to double for Brad one more time — on a commercial that only aired in Japan — before eventually leaving the movie industry.
Speaking of their time working together on Se7en, Richie explained a prank the crew played on Pitt when he was named "sexiest man alive".
He said: “Hanging out with Brad was really cool, he was totally friendly.
“We used to smoke cigarettes together, back then he smoked and so did I.
“Brad didn’t come off like some sort of superstar, even though he was already huge.
“I saw people with way bigger egos than him when I worked on Beverly Hills 90210.
”I won’t name any names, but they were acting like they were the hottest thing and then there’s Brad, who really is the hottest thing, and he’s just so humble.
SEXIEST MAN ALIVE
“He got voted Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine while we were shooting the movie and the crew covered his name on his chair and instead of Brad Pitt they put Sexiest Man Alive.
“When he saw it he blushed and was like ‘Come on’.”
Recalling the final day of the reshoots, Richie admitted he’d been afraid to take photos earlier because people were fired for trying to snap Brad and his then-new girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow.
The actress, now 49, shot to fame playing Brad’s wife in the movie and solidified her stardom when she became his real-life love.
The pair dated for three years, and even got engaged, before splitting in 1997.
Read More on The US Sun
Richie said: “Brad and Gwyneth were first starting their little romance so anyone that took pictures on set got kicked off.
“But I figured it was the last day, what were they going to do, fire me?”
