Leonard Roberts (DL) Interview. (March 9th 2008)

[Captain_BluTac]

Leonard Roberts ('Heroes')

Sunday, March 9 2008, 06:00 GMT
By Simon Reynolds, Entertainment Reporter

You've got to feel for poor D.L. Hawkins in Heroes. Sure, he has a genius son and the innate ability to phase through solid objects, but he's been caused no end of trouble by his schizophrenic, super-strength spouse Niki. As her alter-ego Jessica, she framed him for robbery, watched him go to jail and then unsuccessfully tried to shoot him. Leonard Roberts tells DS about being part of the Heroes phenomenon and his new role on the West End stage. A small warning: those who have not yet seen Heroes series two may want to avoid the first half of this interview.

Were you surprised with how quickly Heroes took off and how successful it became?
"Yeah, when we read [the script], all of us involved we knew it was special. We knew it just needed an audience. We thought that people would come behind it but we didn't know it would happen on a scale like this. I have friends in Berlin, here, in Paris and Australia who are just going crazy for the show and that's great, that so many different people have found things to connect with."

There's been a gradual rise in popularity of the superhero genre and it seems people really wanted to see a TV show like that.
"Lightning struck with us. We got really, really lucky. I'm looking forward to just riding the wave as long as it will go."

How did you feel when D.L. was killed off in the second season?
"Well, it was one of those situations that we knew would befall any one of us. It could happen, but the nature of our show is that nothing is fully as it seems, so anything is possible. If that's the way it should be then I'm thankful for the opportunity and I'll look forward to moving on. If the phone rings and they want me to do something [more] we'll see what we can do."

Any ideas on how you could write D.L. back into the show?
"I had a bunch of ideas but for some reason [the producers] never really listened to them! No, it’s a creative bunch of guys and girls so I'm sure whatever they come up with would be great. That's one of the things we really got to enjoy about being on the show, just being surprised with what they came up with. I'm sure whatever would be, would be cool."

Was it upsetting to leave Heroes?
"Well yeah, I mean I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. When I heard the character was dying, I hoped I could go out in a cool way. I was watching 300 when I got my call and I thought 'well, cheers to having a beautiful death. [Laughs] You hope you get to do something cool."

A lot of the show’s fans gave season two a hard time. What did you think of it?
"If anything good can come out of the writers' strike in the US, I think it was an opportunity for the Heroes camp to regroup and get back to the type of storytelling that garnered all these fans across the world and to do right by them. I mean the fans put the show where it is and it's only right that the creative element behind it respects that audience and gives them something that is worthy of their respect. I hope that they've had some time to do that – I think they have – and when everybody gets back to work I have no doubt that it’s going to be a stellar season."

Tell us little about the character you play in The Viewing Room and what we can expect from it?
"Well, The Viewing Room is a complex three person play centred around a white suburban couple who, by volunteering through community service, are housing a black inmate in their home, in a cage. I play Kyle Carter, the inmate that's brought in to live with this couple, and it deals with a whole wealth of issues. I read this play ten years ago and at that time it was very prophetic, it was almost like what could be. Now, unfortunately in the wake of 9/11 and the state of our lives now in the UK and the US, it takes on a very different meaning because it also deals with fear on a heightened, national level. It deals with not only racism but, at times, imperialism. A lot of the struggles the characters go through are global, they're not just purely American issues. I'm looking forward to seeing what the UK audience thinks."

Have you been recognised much while you’ve been around in London?
"Yeah, it’s been cool. I've been here only a couple of weeks but I walk around, I take the tube everywhere, I think it's the best way to learn a city. So I’m sitting on the tube and someone will walk up to me and say 'are you from Heroes?' or 'are you from Drumline?' and we start talking and they say 'what are you doing on the tube?' I tell them, 'y'know, that's the best way to travel'. So it's been really cool, it's been great to get respect and there's a lot of fans out there and I appreciate it. I hope they come and see the play."

Ok so not much, but at least we know he would come back to the show.

 

[Gotham]

I actually liked his character. Hopefully he'll make an appearance, though the third season really should be about tight dialogue and storylines.

 

[Abaddon]

Was it upsetting to leave Heroes?
"Well yeah, I mean I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. When I heard the character was dying, I hoped I could go out in a cool way. I was watching 300 when I got my call and I thought 'well, cheers to having a beautiful death. [Laughs] You hope you get to do something cool."

Poor bastard.

 

[Neptune]

He knows his death was crappy.

 

[Frank]

his death was incredibly stupid considering the ability his character had.

 

[JPC4]

^^^^
Yep, that ranked right up there with Sylar not using any of his abilities to prevent Hiro from stabbing him (face to face nonetheless) in Season 1's finale.

 

[Gilpesh]

If anything... those Heroes writers had to have hated Leonard Roberts the way they treated him.

How come he dies s**tily (yeah just made that word) when Jessica... I mean Niki... or is it Gina... whatever, gets to live through everything?

 

[Abaddon]

Well not everything. She did apparently die in an almost, but not quite as, ******ed way.

 

[Gilpesh]

Well not everything. She did apparently die in an almost, but not quite as, ******ed way.

Spoiler

Jessica being back = another slap in the face of DL fans

 

[GL1]

Honestly... DL was screwed from episode 1... I watched the deleted scenes on the S1 DVD box set, and dude... DL had like 3-5 scenes of awesomeness... he was in jail and his whole purpose in life was getting out and killing Nathan for being the lawyer who put him behind bars. And he kept waking up outside his cell, totally confused. It would have been a kickass character and we could've seen the type of badass he was when he first appeared in the Saunders household... instead of the impotent dad we got to see instead. If you have it, go and watch the deleted scenes from episode 1... DL was awesome.

After they took that out, for whatever reason, there was nothing that could be done with DL

How do you stop a Phasing man? It sure isn't by walking up to him, giving him a mean look, putting a gun to his stomach and then shooting, I'll tell you that.

 

[Neptune]

Spoiler

Jessica being back = another slap in the face of DL fans

Spoiler

I am glad Jessica is back. She is way more interesting than D.L and Niki combined. They already did a stupid thing by making Niki turn into Gina. They might as well try to redeem themselves by having a totally awesome character return.

If i were him i would've asked the writers for a hot steamy sex scene with Niki before he got killed. That at least would have been a fun last day of shooting.t: