Heroes’ Leonard Roberts Says Racism, Ali Larter To Blame For His Exit
In a newly published essay, Heroes actor Leonard Roberts explains how racism and friction with co-star Ali Larter ultimately led to his exit. Created by Tim Kring, Heroes premiered on NBC in 2006. Well before the current superhero craze took over pop culture, Heroes followed a group of everyday people - good and bad - who suddenly develop strange powers. Throughout its first season, the series became a massive hit for NBC, rising in popularity faster than anyone could process. However, upon its return for season 2, Heroes suffered a noticeable decline in quality and never truly recovered. As a result, the once-great series developed a reputation for being a huge missed opportunity.
During Heroes season 1, Roberts played the series regular role of D.L. Hawkins, a blue collar worker who gains the ability to pass through solid matter at will. Despite being the husband of main character Niki Sanders (Larter) and father to young Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey), D.L. didn't make his entrance until Heroes' fifth episode. D.L. would go on to have a moderately sized role in the first season, only to be killed off before season 2 began. Roberts was able to return for two additional episodes to film D.L.'s end.
Now, Roberts is opening up about the circumstances surrounding his Heroes exit. In a piece published by Variety, Roberts delves into his contentious relationship with Larter, which he says imitated fiction. "The script suggested D.L. and Niki had a volatile relationship — and it wasn’t long before art was imitating life, with me on the receiving end of pushback from my co-star regarding the playing of a particularly tense scene," Roberts writes. Roberts specifically cites a bedroom scene between the two where Larter vehemently refused to expose even just her shoulders, despite the fact that she was willing to do more in another intimate scene with white co-star Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli on Heroes). Nevertheless, Roberts says he strove to remain professional, even as he became aware of other non-white characters being killed off. Then, Roberts was informed of his character's fate.
"In a short voicemail message, [Kring] said that due to 'the Ali Larter situation,' when the show returned for Season 2, audiences would learn that D.L. had died, and that I was free to call him if I wanted to talk," Roberts says. Upon meeting with Kring, Roberts explains he was told "because of my co-star, he just couldn’t make my remaining on the show work story-wise." This baffled the actor, as he didn't understand how the actions of a co-star (who apparently was disliked by others on set) resulted in his firing. At the time, executive producer Dennis Hammer told Roberts, "Don’t think of this as a situation where the Black man loses and the white woman wins." This led Roberts to write, "And that was the first time my race was ever acknowledged while I was a part of the show: not for any creative contribution I could make, but for what I believed was the fear of me becoming litigious."
Roberts is one of many actors of color to come forward in recent months with stories of poor behind the scenes treatment, and he sadly won't be the last. 2020 has brought quite the reckoning for Hollywood as people of color fight for better representation, and every time someone like Roberts tells their story, it's with the hope that positive change will come about. It's unfortunate Roberts had to go through all this on Heroes, though perhaps he can find some peace now that he's brought all of this to light.
Source: Variety