Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Eric Roberts has just been set to play a mafia kingpin in Christopher Nolan's latest Christian Bale "Batman" movie, "The Dark Knight," joining the production in June. It's the latest in an especially bountiful current crop of assignments for Roberts, including his ongoing series roles on "Heroes" and "The L Word," and his June Hallmark Channel presentation, "Pandemic," with Faye Dunaway.

"I don't stop working. I'm a workaholic. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm too overexposed to ever be a superstar, so I'm happy to be a working actor every day," explains the actor also known as rising star Emma Roberts' dad, and superstar Julia's brother.

Referring to his unrequited 1985 Academy Award nomination for "Runaway Train" (Don Ameche won for "Cocoon"), Roberts goes on lightly. "Once they gave my Oscar to the wrong person, I called my agent and said, 'From now on if there's one good thing about a project, I'll do it.' If the character is good, I'll do it. If the director is good, I'll do it. If the location is good, I'll do it."

"Pandemic," in which he plays the mayor of Los Angeles trying to cope with an outbreak of avian flu, allowed him the chance to play "a nice man who is doing a good thing. I always play bad guys, you know?"

Of "Heroes," he notes, "It's a blast to walk into a hit show with none of the pressure of making it a hit."

He's fond of "The L Word," but admits he almost didn't take his role as a charming cad on the series. "When I was offered the show, I was very tired because I'd just done a movie, but my lawyer, my daughter and my stepdaughter ganged up on me to get me to do it. All the actors are so good on that show," adds Roberts. "My character is a bit of a jerk, trying to do the right things. It's a bit of a challenge."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Tucker Carlson may not have had much luck on last season's "Dancing With the Stars," but the political commentator tells us he's still a fan of the show. "I really like it. I like the Joey Fatone guy. He seems like a good dude, doesn't he?" In fact, Carlson, who was the first to leave in season three, says he acquired a lot of profound knowledge from doing the show. "One thing I learned on 'Dancing With the Stars' was, 'Know your limits.' I also learned that I'm not a very good dancer," he adds with a laugh.

When asked if he's dusted off the dance shoes as of late, he responds, "Oh, I'm never dancing again. That was the first, and I think last time, I've ever danced sober, and I'm going to keep it at that."

Instead, Carlson has been trying his hand at acting with a guest spot on "The King of Queens," airing April 30. "I don't have a lot of experience with sitcoms or taped television because our show is live, but I was totally impressed by how they ad-libbed and, in fact, re-wrote the scene during the taping." Luckily he didn't have to get too much out of character to play the part. "They had me play the only character I'm qualified to play, and that's myself. I can pull that off. I do a pretty good rendition of myself," he points out.

HIS DANCE CARD IS FULL: "Hannah Montana" hottie Mitchel Musso says his dance card is full for the rest of the year. The "Hannah Montana" troupe has only shot 13 of the whopping 33-episode commitment for the new season of the hit Disney Channel show that debuted this week with nightly airings, and Musso says, "We're going to be going through the summer and all year, but I don't mind. It's more work. I have no regrets, nothing to complain about." And, he'll be juggling that show with finishing the 60 episodes of Disney's upcoming animated "Phineas and Ferb"(cq) series he stars in with Ashley Tisdale and Ricky Ullman.

The new season of "Hannah Montana" finds the gang "in high school, and some crazy stuff happens," he says. "There's a lot of top secret stuff, and we have a lot of really funny guest stars. We have Brooke Shields on an episode (airing Friday 4/27). She plays Hannah's (Miley Cyrus) mom, who's passed away, in flashback. I actually rap with Jessie McCartney in one show. And we have ("Curb Your Enthusiasm" star) Larry David playing himself. He goes into a restaurant and is like trying to get a table, but this French guy says, 'No, sorry, not last minute … ' Then, of course, Hannah walks in and he's like 'Oh, Hannah, we'll have a table for you right away.' It's great."

FATHER AND CHILD REUNION: Dick Van Dyke and Barry Van Dyke are due back before the cameras mid-May, to start shooting their third Hallmark Channel "Murder 101" movie, in which Dick plays a criminology professor, and Barry a cop. The case at hand this time involves the kidnapping of a prize thoroughbred.

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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