At the recent L.A. press event for his new film Street Kings, opening Friday (the trailer is below), Keanu Reeves looked thinner and scruffier than his rogue cop character, says our L.A. writer Nancy Mills.  He hadn’t shaved for a few days, and he seemed uncomfortable with press attention.

The film, which is a dark look at a special unit of the Los Angeles Police Department, brings to mind the 2000 LAPD Rampart scandal, involving police misconduct.  “I liked my character, Tom Ludlow,” Reeves says.  “I liked his complexity and his violence.  He’s full of contradictions.  He’s very cynical, but he’s also an innocent.  He has a great appreciation for life and death, yet he kills.  For me, it was a nice stretch — someone very different from myself.  I’d hang out with Tom, but I don’t know what he’d have to say to me.”

Reeves says he does not own a gun but doesn’t believe others should be restricted from having one.  “Should citizenry be able to have a weapon?  Yeah — why not?  Violence is sometimes a very practical solution.  I can argue both sides.  I’m not against citizenry having access to weapons. Obviously it has complications. It’s probably not the wisest thing.”  Is there a circumstance when he can imagine wanting a gun?  “When the Huns are coming over the hills — in defense, perhaps.  I’m a pretty good shot.”

Reeves has high praise for his Street Kings co-star Forest Whitaker, saying, “He’s a remarkable actor with great technique.  When you’re acting with him, it feels very real.”