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‘Heroes’ Was Supposed to Be Leonard Roberts’ Big Break. Instead, It Nearly Broke Him.

Soul_Rattler

Soul_Rattler

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Leonard Roberts is best known for his roles in the movie “Drumline,” and on the television“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “American Crime Story,” “Major Crimes” — and for his performance as D.L. Hawkins on the first season of NBC’s “Heroes.” While the fantasy show debuted in 2006 to immediate blockbuster status, making overnight sensations of many of its stars — including Zachary Quinto, Masi Oka, Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere — Roberts’ time on the show was far more troubled. As he details in his account below, he experienced immediate friction with his main co-star Ali Larter — and perceived indifference from creator and showrunner Tim Kring — that led him to feel singled out as a Black actor, a feeling that only grew more intense after he was fired from the show after its first season.

Variety corroborated Roberts’ account with 10 people who either worked on “Heroes” at the time or were contemporaneously familiar with his experience on the show. When reached for comment with a detailed summary of what Roberts wrote, Larter did not provide any comment, while Kring and executive producer Dennis Hammer both praised Roberts, and did not dispute his account. Their full statements are at the end of his piece. UPDATE: Several hours after publication, Larter responded to Roberts' account to Variety's sibling site TV Line, saying she was "deeply saddened." Her full statement also follows Roberts' piece. — Adam B. Vary and Kate Aurthur

variety.com

‘Heroes’ Was Supposed to Be Leonard Roberts’ Big Break. Instead, It Nearly Broke Him.

"Heroes" actor Leonard Roberts writes that he felt singled out as a Black actor during the NBC series' breakout first season.
variety.com variety.com


I'm going to post the best excerpts but the entire article is worth reading.
 
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On another occasion, during the staging of a bedroom scene, my co-star took umbrage with the level of intimacy being suggested between our characters. In a private rehearsal, Greg Beeman, our director, asked if she was willing to lower the straps of the top she was wearing and expose her bare shoulders only above the sheet that covered her, in order to give the visual impression she was in the same state of undress as me, as I was shirtless. My co-star refused Beeman’s request, and I was instantly aware of the tension on the set. I remember instinctively checking to make sure both my hands were visible to everyone who was there, as not to have my intentions or actions misconstrued. Despite Beeman’s clear description of what he was looking for visually, my co-star insisted she was, indeed, being asked to remove her top completely, and rehearsal was cut. She then demanded a meeting with Beeman and the producers who were on set and proceeded to have an intense and loud conversation in which she expressed she had never been so disrespected — as an actress, a woman or a human being.
 
The day after returning from upfronts, I received a call from Kring, my first ever. In a short voicemail message, he 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. I was stunned.

...

“Don’t think of this as a situation where the Black man loses and the white woman wins,” Hammer said.

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.
 
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In the fall of 2007, I received two scripts that concluded D.L.’s storyline. His death was to be the result of a random act of gun violence. I found the choice to be as perplexing as it was ironic, given D.L.’s ability to pass through matter — apparently bullets were still an exception. What was most offensive was the offer to pay me as a guest star, instead of as a series regular. I was prepared to walk away, but my representatives were able to secure pay consistent with what I would have made as a series regular, as a gesture of making me whole.

D.L. Hawkins’ death was saved for my last day of filming and involved me throwing my body off camera just as an assailant raised a gun and fired. The shot ended not with me, but with Niki’s face alone in the frame, splattered with D.L.’s blood. It took one take.

“Nailed it! What a pro!” the director said. “That’s lunch!” the AD said. My co-star gave me a goodbye embrace, the most we had ever touched on or off camera. And everyone left.






Bruh... a black man whose powers literally were to pass through solid matter STILL got shot to death.
:smh:
 
Weeks after my last “Heroes” episode, one of my castmates, with no irony, said, “Can you really say you lost your job because you’re Black? C’mon, man. They’re gonna always keep the hot blonde on the show. That’s just Hollywood.” I responded that for him, as a white man, to ask me to deny I lost my job because I was Black, but accept my co-star kept her job because of attributes he clearly believed identified her as white was, in fact, a quite literal embodiment of systemic racism.
 
For this to become a true turning point, we will all have to engage in a more substantive way. I encourage white people to understand that while standing as allies has its place, action is what this moment demands. This applies to the industry as well. The studio can’t spend millions to support Black causes publicly, but have no Black people in leadership roles. The white show creator can’t create a show featuring non-white on-camera talent but disregard non-white voices behind the scenes. The white actor who’s worked for half as long as a comparable actor of color yet makes twice the pay has to be willing to put that on the line to give voice to the disparity in the name of fairness and equity. The representative should respect and live up to that title and fully embrace what it means to act on our behalf. Without the understanding that these issues are all a part of the same conversation, public acts in the name of allyship become as performative as people making social media posts espousing the virtues of equity and inclusion while privately maintaining the status quo or dropping the “Uncle” from a box of rice. As artists, as professionals and as human beings, fully embracing this moment should not only result in our existing, but thriving.

I now have the most personal stake in seeing that true and lasting systemic change becomes a reality. During “Heroes,” I focused on the fact that D.L. was a father who above all else loved his child. Now I am a father to a child, who at too tender an age, struggles with her own heartbreaking understanding of what it means to be a Black girl in this world. Nightmares have become routine, often revolving around the same fear: that her Blackness will be the death of her; for Black people aren’t safe anywhere, not even in their own homes. Like every Black parent, I live in the pain of knowing I cannot shield her from the world that exists, and struggle with the sobering thought of when and how to take her innocence away. Although I want her to be fully aware of what the world is, I also want her to live with the promise of what it can be. But before I can raise her to live in her complete truth, I have to do the same.
 
Tim Kring provided this statement:

“In 2006, I set out to cast the most diverse show on television. Diversity, interconnectivity and inclusivity were groundbreaking hallmarks of ‘Heroes.’ So too was the huge, diverse cast that continually rotated off and onto the show, with none ever being written off based on their race. Looking back now, 14 years later, given the very different lens that I view the world through today, I acknowledge that a lack of diversity at the upper levels of the staff may have contributed to Leonard experiencing the lack of sensitivity that he describes. I have been committed to improving upon this issue with every project I pursue. I remember Leonard fondly and wish him well.”

Dennis Hammer provided this statement:

“14 years is a long time ago, but I remember clearly that Leonard was a great guy and a total pro.”

...

Despite off-the-record communication with a representative for Larter, the actor did not provide any on-the-record response to Variety. Several hours after publication, Larter provided this statement to TV Line:

"I am deeply saddened to hear about Leonard Roberts’ experience on Heroes and I am heartbroken reading his perception of our relationship, which absolutely doesn’t match my memory nor experience on the show. I respect Leonard as an artist and I applaud him or anyone using their voice and platform. I am truly sorry for any role I may have played in his painful experience during that time and I wish him and his family the very best.”

:Pathetic:
 
well yeah I think it was more a payment and because it's network TV thing than a race thing as far as her,cause she did get wild with Idris and he's black

IDK,maybe it was because he was black .She no doubt didn't like him for whatever reason.

I love that white girl.

They did dude dirty.

I remember liking their story and being confused when they killed him off.

They weren't acting like heroes.
 
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Elzo69Renaissance said:
Synopsis my dog... ain’t got time to read all that
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you can start with any of my posts.

He was a star in a hit first season only to be killed off because the white woman he co-starred with clearly didn't want him around her. And if no one else had an issue with him, what else can you point to besides racism?

Alot of racism is byproduct. They don't go in thinking "here goes this nigger" but when they come out, all their actions point to that exact sentiment. I've dealt with precisely the same thing in a "diverse" environment.

Alot of people pay lip service to diversity just to keep their jobs but they will chip away at it until their business crumbles for a lack of diverse talent/thought. And then they act like they don't know why the house burned down, gas tank in hand.
 
Soul_Rattler said:
Weeks after my last “Heroes” episode, one of my castmates, with no irony, said, “Can you really say you lost your job because you’re Black? C’mon, man. They’re gonna always keep the hot blonde on the show. That’s just Hollywood.” I responded that for him, as a white man, to ask me to deny I lost my job because I was Black, but accept my co-star kept her job because of attributes he clearly believed identified her as white was, in fact, a quite literal embodiment of systemic racism.
Click to expand...

Yo, this is the best distillation of white privilege I ever seen. Buddy actually said "You weren't fired because you're Black. You were fired because she was white" and really thought that made it ok

As for the chick, you know what this dude is saying is true when pretty much everyone involved is like "Ehhh...yeah, that dude was great, and he did get fucked over."
 
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