Opportunity to do a western attracted Denzel Washington to 'The Magnificent Seven'

Denzel Washington loved working in director Antoine Fuqua's reboot of John Sturges' 1960 classic The Magnificent Seven as the actor thought he would never get an opportunity to do a western.

In the new movie, Washington plays Sam Chisolm, a bounty hunter and the leader of the seven, who are hired to protect a town.

Westerns, once a much-loved genre by directors, have seen a decline in Hollywood obsessed with superhero movies and Washington says he was not sure he will get another chance to work in this genre.

"It's fun because we're on our horses and we're all together and guys are talking, cracking jokes and you know, the guys are spinning their guns. I never had the opportunity - and I don't know if I'll get another opportunity - to do a western," Washington said.

"Maybe it shouldn't even be called a western - it's a story that takes place on the frontier, on the edges of a young and new America. And it's about what happens on those edges when there's lawlessness and sometimes a lack of order so men like these seven will come together to make sense out of it."

As part of his preparation for the role, Washington trained with world-renowned sharp shooter Thell Reed and the actor said Reed was always telling him to slow down.

"He would always tell me 'smooth is fast.' You know, I have fast hands and I've been boxing for years. I'm just fast but he was always telling me 'slow down! Slow down!' Thell is the man. He's worked with John Wayne. You know, he's the man. He's the truth..."

Peter Sarsgaard is the main antagonist, Bartholomew Bogue, in the movie and Washington believed it was a smart decision to have the actor play the villain.

"I think that's good casting. He's a wonderful actor and that was very wise, smart casting on Antoine's part. He's a very good actor and he brings - I don't know what you would call it - a slipperiness," he said.

The story of The Magnificent Seven has been a part of cinema consciousness for a long time with Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film Seven Samurai.

Kurosawa's film inspired Sturges' 1960 film, which has been revived again with Washington leading a star-studded cast including names like Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Sarsgaard, Haley Bennett and Matt Bomer among others.

The story is also among the movies that inspired Indian hit Sholay.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is releasing The Magnificent Seven in India this Friday.