Written by Nick Halili | DUB Magazine | April 6, 2008
When it comes to dream jobs, how would you have liked to have been on one of the most popular shows on television, play a character with superpowers and have love scenes with the super-hot Ali Larter? Well, as a former star of NBC's Heroes, that's what Leonard Roberts looked forward to as he drove to work before his character was fatally shot in the last season.
For those who haven't caught the show yet, Heroes is like a cross between the comic book X-Men and the TV series Lost. On Heroes, Leonard played D.L. Hawkins, a wrongfully accused fugitive with the power to phase through solid matter and take people with him as he walks through walls, but was shot by a stranger in the chest at point-blank range. Will he come back to the show? You're going to have to watch next season to find out. In the meantime, DUB caught up with the St. Louis native as he talked about Heroes and how he went from being a stage-trained performer to starring on hit TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville and major motion pictures such as Drumline (Fox 2000 Pictures, 2002).
What interested you the most about your character, D.L.?
D.L. was shown in a particular light, and then he came on the scene and just kinda flipped everyone's perceptions. I like D.L.'s sense of loyalty and commitment to his family.
You've played roles on shows like Buffy and Smallville. Are you a comic book/sci-fi fan?
I've always kind of been a fan, but the shows just came. Before Buffy, I was a hardcore drama cat. Nobody thought of me in sci-fi or action roles. When Smallville came around, it was my chance to tip my hat to Terence Stamp in Superman II (Warner Bros. Pictures, 1980). That was my man, General Zod.
Who's your favorite super hero?
Spider-Man. That was the first pair of Underoos I had when I was a kid. I was also into X-Men and Daredevil.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I remember the coolest thing about Daredevil was that he almost lacked the gene for fear. If you didn't have that fear of physical and psychological pain, it'd be interesting to see how you'd live your life.
What cast members do you sometimes hang out with?
We're all real cool off the set. I hang with Adrian [Adrian Pasdar, who plays Nathan Petrelli]. We both ride bikes. He was with me the day I almost checked out. Talk about the gene for fear. We hit these hills on our bikes doing about 30-40 mph on a descent. I got that adrenalin rush and was taking turns like there was no tomorrow. I caught a bad one and flipped over into a ditch of boulders, shattered the tip of my elbow, tore my left arm up and hurt my back. Adrian saw that and later said, "Man, I thought I just watched you die!" At the time, we were shooting the episode where D.L. got shot and was covered in blood, so you couldn't really see the real stitches.
What has been your favorite role to date?
They're all rewarding for different reasons. Heroes is cool because so many people connect to it. I had the opportunity to play Joe Louis once (in the made for TV movie Joe and Max), and that was a big high for me. When you're given an opportunity to tell someone's story like that, it's a big responsibility and you want to do it right.
What are some of the most memorable moments from any of your roles?
[Laughs] Well, a gig isn't memorable unless I walk away with some sort of scar. I got the broken elbow from Heroes; I messed my hand up so bad in Drumline that I had to go on Celebrex. In Joe and Max,
I broke my hand in a fight scene.
Is there anything you can reveal about the show for next season?
Aw, man, working for this show is like working for the government. I can't say much. A lot of the characters are going to go in some really new directions. You're going to see new connections between characters. All I can tell you is you will not be disappointed.
So what's the first car you've ever owned?
I had a white Mazda 323 in high school. But, it wasn't hooptie-esque; it was clean. Now, I've been 6 feet 2 inches since about the 9th grade, and my first girlfriend was 5 feet 8 inches, so romantic dates were kind of problematic.
Tell me about the cars from your photo shoot.
The pics were of a Benz CLS 550. It's real slick. I like it because it's subtle, but still stands out.
What are some of your dream cars that you'd like to have in the future?
I'm a big fan of the Aston Martin Vanquish. I love the lines. It's powerful, but smooth. It's a little on the flashier side, but I like the Bentley Continental Coupe.
What kind of music do you like to bump when you're driving?
It's funny you ask that because my car was broken into recently, and I lost all of my music, like 950 CDs worth from all the way back when I had a Jheri curl. Now, I'm just trying to rebuild my collection. I'm real eclectic. I bump Kanye; I'm also a fan of TI. I can go old school like NWA, A Tribe Called Quest. I had a nice collection of Miles Davis stuff. I've been on The Police from way before the reunion tour. I keep thinking, someone's gonna start using Sting's bass lines in hip-hop. It's just a matter of time.
Did you know Heroes was going to turn out to be as big as it is?
We all knew that if it was done right, it could be special. I don't think any of us were prepared for how big it became. It wasn't until we went to the Comic-Con in San Diego that we saw just how big it was going to be. We screened it for 3,000 people, and they just went nuts. I started thinking, "OK, we're in for a ride!"