Eric Roberts & Hayden Panettiere Speak!
Article by Craig Byrne

Just in time for the final three episodes of this season of Heroes, actors Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennet) and Eric Roberts (Thompson) participated in a phone junket with members of the press.

To fans of the show and pop culture, neither actor would be a stranger. Hayden has gained high popularity for her role as Claire on Heroes and in such popular family films as The Ice Princess and Bring It On: All Or Nothing. Eric Roberts has been in movies and television for two decades and is one of many big-name actors to lend their talents to the show.

Some spoilers may be within.

When asked if "Five Years Gone" is a definitive future for Claire Bennet, Hayden reminds that it will only happen if New York City is not saved. "Only if the bomb explodes," she says. However, Ms. Panettiere herself doesn't know exactly what the future may bring. "I don't even know the first episode of the next season," she says. When complimented on her darker hairstyle for the future episode, Hayden says that she too was pleased with the look. "My hair would be dark right now if I could have it," she reveals.

Heroes has brought Hayden Panettiere into the spotlight, and with that spotlight comes the responsibility of being a role model. "It's always great to be a good role model, and especially to have people to look up to you," she says. "I'm big into charities and foundations. I have a handful that I've been working with, and as an icon to certain people, whether it be the cheerleader or just me as a person, I hope that I can get them to see what I'm doing with charities and maybe participate in things that they believe in."

However, Hayden reminds that she errs just like everyone else. "At the end of the day, I'm still a normal teenage girl, who is making mistakes still in her life, and trying to find where I am as a person and growing into a person," she says.

There is a debate on Claire's indestructability, and Hayden offers her own perspective. "That was never really answered for me by anyone," she reveals. "After time, I kind of put together a theory for myself in my head. I think that she is indestructible. She can jump off the highest buildings, she could go through a wood chopper and she'd be fine."

"But I do think there's a reason why she was so scared when Sylar comes along," she teases. "There's a reason why Peter Petrelli has to save her." She knows that fans have their own opinions on Claire and the rest of the characters. "It's interesting to hear their theories of what's really happening in the show," she says.

Both Panettiere and Eric Roberts find themselves noticed by fans on the street, particularly in traffic. "I've almost gotten into a couple of car accidents, because I'll be driving and people scream at me ["Cheerleader!"] from their passing cars," Hayden reveals. "I'm not quite used to it yet." Roberts agrees. "Every traffic light I stop at, I hear something about Heroes," he says.

Joining the show a bit late, Eric Roberts was made to feel at home when he joined the cast, especially from his fellow interviewee, Hayden Panettiere. "Hayden's one of the most welcoming cast members in the makeup trailer of anybody," he said. "When I got there, she and Greg Grunberg were like 'Hi! Do you know how long you're gonna live yet'?" Both Panettiere and Roberts seemed to agree that it was funny that such a fun-loving cast would be working on a serious drama series.

Hayden talks about how her character might not fare too well if New York City is not saved. "If we don't save New York City, I could possibly have a not-so-nice ending in life," Hayden says. Regarding the whole "save-the-cheerleader" mantra, she has a positive attitude. "She may need saving. I don't mind it. I don't mind being the damsel in distress," she reveals. At this point in the press junket she may let out a big spoiler. (Click here to read that)

Dynamics have changed this season as Claire is now separated from her father, HRG (Jack Coleman), and she has now been reunited with her biological father, Nathan Petrelli.

"HRG [is] the dad that raised her," Hayden says. "She loves him more than anything. I think at this point she's learning that she can't be so naive. Imagine if you were raised by someone and you find out this whole dark stuff that you didn't know. You'd still love them, but you'd question them more. I think it's a relationship that needs to be built back and more understood."

"He's chosen his daughter over his work," she says.

"I think [Claire] has mixed feelings about Nathan," Hayden continues. "She wants to love him because he is her dad, but at the same time, she listened and she watched him show up at her mother's door with a suitcase full of cash to get rid of her. I think she's a pretty savvy girl. She knows that the election is worth more to him than his own daughter, which she might find questionable. There's always room for building and more understanding."

Eric Roberts, who soon will be playing a mafioso in the Batman sequel The Dark Knight, skirts around the question of whether or not Thompson is a bad guy. "It's ambiguous," he says. "Bad guys never think they're bad guys, so from my point of view it's a no."

The Dark Knight connection excites Hayden a bit, as she too falls into fangirl mode. Roberts reveals that he has not read the script, but he will have scenes with both Christian Bale and Heath Ledger.

Both Hayden and Eric have some thoughts about their characters and their futures. For Hayden, the important aspect is that things remain grounded. "I think we have to keep in mind that the series is about ordinary people who have extraordinary abilities, who are still trying to keep in touch with their lives. You don't want her to be like Kenny on South Park who dies in every episode."

"I'm proud as an actor to say that I recruit the heroes. I'm obviously #2 under Malcolm, but I'm one of the honchos, and I have this ability to know who has powers," Roberts reveals "If you can't have the powers, at least know who does, so you're on the right team, you know."

"I hope that I recruit Heroes to restore world peace. That the girl who can change her look and stuff can become like Donald Rumsfeld under the Bush administration and stuff," he jokes.

HeroSite.net would like to thank NBC, Hayden Panettiere, and Eric Roberts for participating in this interview. Keep visiting the site for more interviews in the future!

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Heroes and its characters and related images are copyright ©2007 NBC Universal Television. This is a fan site and not authorized by NBC. Page copyright ©2007 KryptonSite, unless the material is noted as coming from someplace else or being by an individual author.

Heroes stars Hayden Panettiere, Jack Coleman, Santiago Cabrera, Masi Oka, Greg Grunberg, Adrian Pasdar, Milo Ventimiglia, Ali Larter, Noah Grey-Cabey, David Anders, Kristen Bell, Dana Davis, Dania Ramirez, Zachary Quinto, James Kyson Lee, and Sendhil Ramamurthy.

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