During a recent conference call with Hayden Panettiere and Eric Roberts for Heroes, Roberts shed some light on the character he will be playing in Christopher Nolan's Batman followup, The Dark Knight.

Eric, you were recently cast in The Dark Knight can you talk about your character and what role he has in the story?

Eric Roberts: All I can tell you is that I'm a mafioso in The Dark Knight, and I have not even seen the script. I've only seen the pages they gave me to audition. It's all very hush-hush.

Hayden Panettiere: Dude, you're doing The Dark Knight!

Eric Roberts: Yeah.

Hayden Panettiere: Oh, my God!

Eric Roberts: It's gonna be so much fun, we're gonna shoot in Chicago in a month. I'm so excited, Hayden. I love Christian Bale. Oh my God, what an actor.

From Heroes to The Dark Knight, do you have a newfound appreciation for that genre? Even though you haven't read the whole script do you know if your interaction is going to be more with Heath Ledger (The Joker) or more with Christian Bale? Are you a villain, are you a good guy?

Eric Roberts: I have interactions with both those guys and I am a bad guy. It was thanks to Heroes, I think, that I've been able to get the appreciation. Heroes is basically a comic book.

The Dark Knight opens in theaters everywhere June 18, 2008 from Warner Bros. Pictures.