Director and writer Joel Souza’s latest thriller, ‘Crown Vic’, tells the story of two police officers racing against the clock to save a missing, young girl, and to track down two-cop killers.
The two officers, both at opposite ends in their respective careers, must venture from the safety of their ‘Crown Vic’ vehicle as danger awaits and obstacles, including a rogue cop running amuck and seeking revenge.
Produced by Anjul Nigam, Gregg Bello, Alec Baldwin, Maxx Tsai, we had the chance to chat with actor David Krumsholtz (Stroke Adams) at the world premiere of Crown Vic at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Here’s what he had to say!
The Knockturnal: Congratulations on the film! To kick things off, can you tell us a little bit about your character and what you’re hoping audiences take away from the film?
David Krumsholtz: I play a police officer named Stroke Adams. I’m sort of the lackey partner of a renegade cop, whose kind of crossing several ethical lines, and I’m there to enable him up until to a point where I need to step in, but for the most part, the movie is about the fine line between what makes an honorable cop and what makes a cop that sort of has a pseudo gang mentality. A very provocative film, so it was cool to work on something like that.
The Knockturnal: In the media, we see a lot of conversation surrounding police brutality. And while that’s incredibly important, what new insight do you think this film offers into the pressures that encompass being a police officer?
David Krumsholtz: Well, certainly in big cities like Los Angeles, where this film is set, cops are a low hanging fruit. It’s very easy to judge their behavior in a world that’s sort of video and everyone’s filming them all the time, and they have their own video cameras on their chest. It’s exposed. And so, it’s certainly not easy. I don’t think anybody can say that being a police officer is easy. But what’s hard is avoiding that ethical line. That’s the difficult part. Because you see such horrible things; you see traumatic things. These guys take their work home with them. Eventually I guess they become desensitized to the horrific things that they see. Hopefully the film gives a true to life, gritty portrayal of what it actually is psychologically to be a police officer in a big city like Los Angeles.
The Knockturnal: Is that what attracted you to the film?
David Krumsholtz: I’ve never played a police officer before, and when they cast me, I thought ‘well, kind of a square, pegging around hole but I’ll work with it.’ Supposedly it comes across well; I haven’t seen the film yet. Also, my great friend, Gregg Bello, is the producer of the film. This is his first film that he’s produced, so we’ve been best friends for about 20 years, so I’m happy that he asked me to do it.
The Knockturnal: There’s a generational and career difference between the two officers, what’s you take on it?
David Krumsholtz: There’s an old guard of police officers, and whether or not their concerns are with bringing a new guard in a way that teaches them the truth, or exposes them in a hard knot sort of way to the stark reality of it. That’s what’s explored between the two characters. And Thomas Jane and Luke Kleintank, are amazing actors.
The Knockturnal: Crown Vic explores the theme between what defines good and evil. How has this informed your own understanding and perception?
David Krumsholtz: Well, I’ve always respected police officers, and for me, it’s always been sad to see police make mistakes. There’s no requisite or prerequisite for that job that says you have to be perfect. There’s nobody that’s perfect, and we want our police officers to be perfect superheroes, but they can’t be. There’s no such thing. And especially in this era of superhero worship, it’s very easy to point out every little mistake that a police officer makes. It’s an interesting time we’re in.
