Звезда «Гангленда» Лу Даймонд Филлипс обсудил роль индейского полицейского и возвращение на Юго-Запад США

Twin Arrows welcomes Lou Diamond Phillips for meet-and-greet FLAGSTAFF — Lou Diamond Phillips gave the Navajo-Hopi Observer an exclusive interview backstage in the VIP room at Twin Arrows Resort & Casino on Thursday, Aug. 27, talking about his new film, the weight of playing tribal law enforcement, and a career that keeps pulling him back to the Southwest — hours before fans packed the rotunda for his 7 p.m. meet-and-greet. Katt Wauneka and Beverly Wilson had already staked out a spot in the lobby, DVDs in hand for Phillips to sign. The making of ‘Gangland’ Phillips is currently promoting “Gangland,” a crime thriller he calls “very much like Denzel Washington’s ‘Training Day,’ but on a reservation.” The film has earned a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes — “absolutely stellar,” Phillips said. “I’m incredibly proud of it. It’s a fantastic film.” He plays Teddy Sharpe, a non-Native tribal cop who married into the community, opposite Dana Namerode as rookie recruit Sandra Scala. The two confront gang violence on a fictional reservation called Thunderstone. “The character carries this sort of burden, this history that the community is well aware of, and it’s kept him almost like a perennial outsider,” Phillips said. “It really added to the character’s journey and his dilemma.” He credited Marcus Red Thunder, an executive producer and technical adviser on the film, with keeping the story authentic. The cast also includes Irene Bedard, Kim Guerrero as his character’s wife, Nick Stahl and standout newcomer Elisha Pratt. Mentoring the next generation On screen, Phillips’ character mentors a rookie. Off screen, that role has become second nature. “I don’t know when I became a veteran, but sure enough I tend to be one of the older people on set,” he said, pointing to “Prodigal Son” and the upcoming second season of “Chair Company,” where he plays Tim Robinson’s boss. He tries to lead by example, he said — “professional, showing up ready, knowing my lines, being respectful to the crew.” ‘Those issues are still there’ Phillips has played tribal and federal officers for decades. Asked how those portrayals have changed in 35 years, he didn’t sugarcoat it: “Not much. Those issues are still there.” “Gangland,” he said, skips the “noble savage” clichés in favor of something plainer: “These are real-life people with real-life problems.” He traced that thread back to his own role as Navajo police officer Jim Chee in “The Dark Wind,” where jurisdictional tangles between federal agents, Hopi police and Navajo police played out in and around Tuba City — echoed now in “Gangland” through Nick Stahl’s character, a local cop working just outside the reservation. “Everybody wants their jurisdiction and they want to control their fiefdom,” Phillips said. “What’s interesting is that I don’t think we’ve come that far in establishing real sovereignty and real agency — at least in the laws that are on paper.” Coming home to the Southwest Coming back to the region, he said, always feels like something more. “This place is near and dear to my heart,” Phillips said, citing “Longmire,” “Young Guns” and “The Dark Wind.” The nations he’s portrayed on screen — Navajo, Lakota, Cheyenne — “have been so warm and embracing to me.” Familiar faces in the VIP room The VIP room brought a few reunions of its own. George Eagle Eye, who now lives in Prescott Valley, was an extra in “La Bamba” decades ago, watching from the crowd as Phillips took the stage playing Ritchie Valens. Thursday marked their first meeting since. Twin Arrows General Manager Michele Thomas stopped in for a photo. So did Sgt. Marwin Joe of the Navajo Police Department, featured in the 2012 National Geographic series “Navajo Cops.” Joe, with the department’s Special Operations Bureau Casino Unit, coordinated public safety for the visit and accompanied Phillips to his next stop the following night, according to a Navajo Police Department Facebook post. Minnie Brown drove in from Ganado with her daughter, Cheryl, for their second meeting with Phillips. The first was roughly 35 years ago in Tuba City, during the filming of “The Dark Wind,” when Minnie’s husband, Wilfred Brown, was the Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent who authorized the production to film there. When Minnie reminded him Thursday night, Phillips laughed. “We’re both getting old,” he said, catching himself. “We were both young back then.” Cecina Begay brought her daughter, Alyssa, an Arizona State University student, for a photo. Cheyenne and Becca came from Tuba City; Sinetta and Sue drove in from Farmington. Phillips’ stop at Twin Arrows was one leg of a run that also took him to Fire Rock Casino on Aug. 28 and Northern Edge Casino on Aug. 29. “Gangland” was released in select theaters and on digital platforms July 10, and is streaming now on demand.