Joseph Gordon-Levitt on playing a cop in a post-George Floyd world

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a police officer named Frank in the new Netflix movie “Project Power.” While the film was shot two years ago, recent events like the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests that roiled the nation have cast the police - and their portrayals in TV and film - in a new light. “This movie does portray a police officer who’s not a perfect person,” the actor said of his character. “But ultimately I think he’s coming from a good place. And I still like to think that most cops are coming from a good place.” But Gordon-Levitt points out that recent abuses by the police have made a re-evaluation necessary. “There’s too many examples of these tragic, brutal circumstances where [police] are not being helpful at all and they’re not being held responsible for those actions.” He went on to say that Hollywood’s depiction of cops depends largely on tropes and might promote an inaccurate and harmful image. “These tropes build up of the heroic, brutally violent cop saving the day and that’s probably not the most helpful story to keep telling.”