DETROIT: The sadistic, racist police officer at the center of the movie “Detroit” may be one of the more terrifying characters seen on film this year.
Playing him was equally frightening, according to actor Will Poulter.
“My internal monologue at that time was quite difficult to wrestle with,” said Poulter, 24, who portrays a white Detroit cop who taunts, pistol-whips and beats up a group of black men and two white women in an hours-long interrogation during the 1967 Detroit riots.
Director Kathryn Bigelow’s “Detroit” is based on a hitherto little-known incident that ended with the police shootings of three black men. Reviewers have called it powerful but painful to watch.
Poulter’s character, Krauss, is a composite of some of the actual Detroit police officers who were later tried and acquitted of any crimes over the incident.
Poulter, who is British, said there was “no sense of enjoyment or relish in playing a role like this because he (Krauss) is so offensive and heinous.”
Deadline.com film critic Pete Hammond called his performance “the epitome of evil,” while A.O. Scott of the New York Times said Poulter played the role as “a callow sociopath.”
The actor said he had been forced to “embrace ignorance” in order to play the racist officer.
“You are having to momentarily convince yourself that just because some of us are a different ethnic group, (black people are) a threat to you, or they are immediately a criminal,” he said.
“You know you’re not forming your opinions on any truth or any kind of rational basis. You’re having to accept ignorance as the thing that informs all of your behaviors. And it’s quite a frightening place to be.”
Poulter was previously best known for comedy “We’re the Millers” and for playing a bully in “The Maze Runner.”
But he said that despite his unease at his most recent role, he wanted to be part of the movie because it publicizes a little-known story.
“I just wanted to be part of the team that sheds light on that fact and be part of something that was socially and politically relevant,” he said.
“Detroit” opened in major US cities last week and expands to movie theaters nationwide on Friday. (Editing by Matthew Lewis)
Role as racist ‘Detroit’ cop took actor Poulter to ‘frightening place’
Role as racist ‘Detroit’ cop took actor Poulter to ‘frightening place’
Christmas Eve winner in Arkansas lands a $1.817 billion Powerball lottery jackpot
- The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19
- The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said
ARKANSAS, USA: A Powerball ticket purchased at a gas station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, won a $1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.
The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19. The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy USA in Cabot, lottery officials in Arkansas said Thursday. No one answered the phone Thursday at the location, which was closed for Christmas. The community of roughly 27,000 people is 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previous expected, making it the second-largest in US history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million.
“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, was quoted as saying by the website. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak — every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”
The prize followed 46 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers.
The last drawing with a jackpot winner was Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion.
Organizers said it is the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. It first happened in 2010.
The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said. The company added that the sweepstakes also has been won on Christmas Day four times, most recently in 2013.
Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes.
“With the prize so high, I just bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters said Wednesday.
Tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
