Nothing but praise. Eric Roberts reflected on his positive experience working alongside late actor Heath Ledger in 2008’s The Dark Knight.
“I’d been told before I met Heath, ‘He’s so into character. Oh, my God, he’s so into character. You can’t approach him, blah, blah, blah,’” Roberts, who played Sal Maroni in the acclaimed flick, told Us Weekly exclusively earlier this month while promoting his stepdaughter Morgan Simons’ Pi BakeShop and stepson Keaton Simons’ music. “I got on the set with him and he was wonderful. He was sweet. He was approachable. He was kind. He was prepared. He was funny. In fact, I had several scenes with him.”
Ledger died in January 2008 due to an accidental overdose. He shared daughter Matilda, now 14, with ex Michelle Williams.
In Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight, the Australian actor appeared as the Joker opposite Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman. His efforts were recognized with a Golden Globe and Academy Award win. The action film served as Ledger’s final acting role.
Speaking to Us, the 64-year-old Best of the Best actor noted what a “loss” it was when the Brokeback Mountain star died. Roberts added that he believes Ledger’s daughter Matilda will see her father’s work in The Dark Knight “one day,” stating that the film is “part of his legacy.”
After Ledger’s passing, Bale, 46, played Batman once more before passing the baton over to Ben Affleck. However, the 47-year-old Way Back star stepped down from the coveted part early last year. Robert Pattinson is the next actor set to tackle the dual role.
Roberts believes that Pattinson, 34, will be “wonderful” and “likable” as the caped crusader. “He will be heroic. He will be handsome. He will be the Batman,” the Runaway Train actor told Us. “I have infinite faith in him.”
Aside from his thoughts on Ledger and the future of Batman onscreen, Roberts opened up about streaming stepson Keaton’s music and noted the benefits of his stepdaughter Morgan’s Pi BakeShop during the coronavirus quarantine.
“Everybody’s having issues about groceries, except me, because I have an in. I have a cheat,” he said of Morgan’s company. “I have PiBakeshop.com, run by stepdaughter, owned by my stepdaughter and I call her for food. So it’s fantastic.”
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With reporting by Marc Lupo
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