End Of Watch is out in U.S Cinemas today (September 21st) and Jake Gyllenhaal, who spent time with the real L.A.P.D to prepare for his role as Officer Bryan Taylor, has been talking about life as a cop on the streets of Los Angeles.

“Oh, it's a world of a difference. When you see a police officer on the street, there's a stigma, it's like a Batsuit. Even when you put it on, it feels that way,” he explained to ABC News. “When you see them, they project a whole lot of things out into the world just wearing that uniform.” Gyllenhall and co-star Michael Pena, who plays Officer Mike Zavala in the film, spent a great deal of time with the real police force to get a feel for the action. “After spending five months on the street with police officers, the sheriff's department, LAPD, two to three times a week doing ride-alongs from 4 in the afternoon to 5 in the morning, and then doing SWAT-type tactical training, after all these experiences, but particularly being on the street – [you realize] it's a tough job,” recalled Gyllenhaal.

Talking ahead of their glitzy Hollywood premier for the film, the boys seemed proud of their portrayal, with Pena particularly happy with its relevance: “We wanted to show something fresh, something that you don't necessarily see everyday. There's things that are in the news that they hear of, there's characters that they don't necessarily know, but they want to know. For me those were curiosities. Also, the way we shot it, lends itself to a more improvisational-looking style,” he explained.