Saw 7: Linkin Park Singer Chester Bennington’s Gory Cameo Explained

2010’s Saw 7, originally intended to be the franchise’s final entry, featured a surprising and gory cameo by Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington. Bennington actually wasn’t the original singer of Linkin Park, but it wasn’t until shortly after he took over as lead vocalist that the band took off to superstardom via their album Hybrid Theory. Songs like “In the End” and “Crawling” became massive crossover hits, and Linkin Park never really looked back, remaining both active and beloved by fans for nearly the next two decades.

That was until Bennington tragically died by suicide in July 2017, a mere two months after the similar suicide of fellow rock star and Bennington’s close friend Chris Cornell. Linkin Park still seems to be figuring out where they’ll go with their art now that Bennington is gone, but don’t seem ready to break up. Bennington was a tragic loss for both those close to him as well as the music world as a whole, but his contributions seem unlikely to ever be forgotten.

Lots of music stars try their hand at acting, but Bennington didn’t do much of it. He made cameos in both Crank and Crank: High Voltage, but his only acting role of any real meat came in Saw 7. Bennington played the last kind of character anyone would’ve expected, a racist skinhead named Evan.

Despite only appearing in Saw 7‘s opening Jigsaw trap, Bennington’s Evan was placed in one of the more diabolical scenarios. Evan’s friends and girlfriend’s lives were also at stake, and Evan could only save them – along with himself – by ripping away the flesh of his back, which had been glued to the seat of a car. Bennington plays the role very well too, as he’s said to have enlisted an acting coach to help get into the mindset of his deplorable character.

Interestingly, Bennington ended up part of Saw 7 due to the fact that one of his Linkin Park bandmates lived near Mark Burg, a producer on the Saw franchise. Once Burg learned Bennington was a big fan of the Saw movies, Burg asked if Bennington would be interested in appearing in one, and he enthusiastically replied in the affirmative. Bennington’s Evan was actually originally planned to survive his Detective Mark Hoffman-constructed ordeal, and be shown in the hospital later. However, this plan was canceled due to Bennington’s busy schedule making it impossible to come back and film the follow-up scene.

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