Denzel Washington hasn't seen the original Magnificent Seven despite starring in its remake

The Oscar-winner plays the role made famous by Yul Brynner in the 1960 classic

Considering The Magnificent Seven is considered a cinematic classic, you'd have put money on the star of its remake having seen it.

Think again. Denzel Washington let slip in a press conference following the film's world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) that he hasn't seen the John Sturges' original starring Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach and Steve McQueen.

Washington, who - despite a name-change - plays Brynner's role, said: "I didn't keep away from it, I just didn't know how it would help me. I'd never seen it as a kid. People would say, 'oh, you're the so-and-so character', and I'd go, 'I don't even know who that is'. I think it allowed me to do whatever I wanted to do, instead of trying to not do what somebody else did."

Co-starring alongside Washington in the film is Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio. The former plays the role made famous by McQueen and director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) revealed his casting proved one of the most difficult aspects in getting the film made.

He told The Hollywood Reporter: "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.'

The Magnificent Seven is released on 23 September.