Keanu Reeves cuts a full figure at Cannes premiere

Once chiselled and the proud owner of a ripped six-pack, Keanu Reeves cut a somewhat fuller figure arriving at Cannes for the premiere of his directorial debut.

Perhaps spending more time sitting behind than fighting in front of the camera, the heartthrob actor arrived on the Croisette to show off his new film 'Man of Tai Chi'.

The film, a Chinese co-production, finds Reeves' character enticing former stuntman and 'House of Fury' star Tiger Chen into a shadowy world of underground, no-holds-barred fighting, with deadly results.

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For his role in 'The Matrix', Reeves trained at a bootcamp under Master Yuen Woo-Ping for several months, who taught him and the rest of the cast to look like kung-fu experts.

Woo-Ping also provides his tutelage on 'Man of Tai Chi', but perhaps Reeves' post-filming schedule has lapsed.

Of course Reeves, now 48, isn't the first former action star to have succumbed to middle-age spreading.

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Steven Seagal has also filled out substantially since his days as a high-kicking martial arts star in films like 'Under Siege' and 'Hard To Kill'.

Meanwhile, Val Kilmer, once lean and mean as Ice-Man in 'Top Gun' and 'Batman' in 'Batman Forever', has increasingly widened as the years have passed.