Line #0 Trivia/Heroes


1	* AbilityOverAppearance:
2	** Mohinder Suresh was originally written for a 55-year-old, but Creator/SendhilRamamurthy's audition tape and screen test were convincing enough for writers to rewrite the part.
3	** Niki was originally written to be a showgirl. However, Creator/AliLarter did not fit their original vision of a showgirl, so the character's profession was changed to internet stripper.
4	** Simone Deveaux was originally a bohemian white woman. The character was changed when Creator/TawnyCypress got that role instead of Niki.
5	* ActorLeavesCharacterDies: When Creator/DavidAnders left to film ''Children of the Corn'', Adam Monroe was quickly killed off to make way for a new villain. They brought him back for Hiro's dream trial a year and a half later when Anders was available.
6	* ActorSharedBackground:
7	** Micah is a child prodigy and talented pianist, just like Noah Gray-Cabey, who was accepted into Harvard at ''15''.
8	** Hiro and Creator/MasiOka were both raised by single parents (Hiro by his father, Oka by his mother), and at the beginning of the series, Oka held a job as a programmer at Creator/IndustrialLightAndMagic, while Hiro was a Level 3 programmer in his father's company. As of ''Series/HeroesReborn'', Hiro has become head of the company and trapped in a video game; Oka is head of a company that ''makes'' video games.
9	* BillingDisplacement: Averted. Not only are the main cast members always billed in strictly alphabetical order, ''Heroes'' (along with ''Series/{{Charmed\|1998}}'' and ''Series/{{Eastwick}}'') is one of the few non-soaps to credit just the actors who appear in each episode, instead of running a standard cast list.
10	* CastIncest: Creator/HaydenPanettiere (Claire Bennet) and Creator/MiloVentimiglia (Peter Petrelli) dated while playing an onscreen uncle and niece.
11	* CastTheRunnerUp:
12	** James Kyson Lee originally auditioned for the role of Hiro Nakamura, but instead got the role of Hiro's sidekick Ando.
13	** Creator/GregGrunberg originally auditioned for the part of Peter Petrelli. The role of Matt Parkman was written for him after Creator/TimKring's wife pointed out that the show had no everyman character.
14	** Creator/TawnyCypress (Simone) originally auditioned for the role of Niki.
15	** Creator/ChristopherEccleston was originally offered the role of Sylar, but declined, as he didn't want to be typecast in EvilBrit roles. He accepted the role of Claude.
16	** Jimmy Jean-Louis auditioned three times for the role of D.L. Hawkins before being cast as the Haitian.
17	* CharacterBlog: Several characters had online blogs of some kind or another, including, not surprisingly, the geeky [[http://blog.nbc.com/hiro_blog/ Hiro Nakamura]] and the hacker [[http://www.samantha48616e61.com/ Hana Gitelman]].
18	** Several had [=MySpace=] pages as well, including Zach. The listing of ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' and ''Film/TheBirdcage'' as favorite movies fueled speculation that the character was gay.
19	* ContractualImmortality: {{Subverted}}. Niki Sanders was KilledOffForReal, with Creator/AliLarter staying on the show thanks to the reveal that she was one of three clones. Also, Nathan Petrelli was really killed and had his place taken by an amnesiac, permanently transformed Sylar.
20	* CreatorBacklash:
21	** In an interview with ''Entertainment Weekly'', Creator/TimKring commented on criticisms of season two, and the series' 15% decline in ratings. Kring said that he felt he had made mistakes with the direction of season two. He had thought that the audience was looking for a "build-up of characters and the discovery of their powers", when viewers were instead looking for "adrenaline." Kring also outlined what he felt were problems with plot development, stating that season two "took too long to get to the big-picture story", explaining that Peter's vision of the viral armageddon should have occurred in the first episode instead of the seventh. He feels that it would have been better to introduce new characters within the context of the main storyline, as with Elle, rather than in unattached arcs such as that of Maya and Alejandro. Kring also admitted that he should have resolved the "Hiro in Japan" storyline much more quickly, and that the romantic stories were not working well. With regard to Claire and West, and Hiro and Yaeko, he said, "I've seen more convincing romances on TV. In retrospect, I don't think romance is a natural fit for us."
22	** Creator/ChristopherEccleston wrote in his memoir that he didn't care for his time on the series:
23	-->I received decent reviews for ''Heroes'', but basically all I was doing was repeating the performance I'd given in Britain in America with a beard. The show's producers were never going to let me carry an episode, which is what I wanted and what I was used to. Similarly, I didn't love the writing of ''Heroes''. I didn't feel like I was making the standard of television I was back home. I also knew that eventually they would turn my character into a rogue. In the end, that combination of doubts meant that I just couldn't go back. They kept asking me to return and I kept saying no, which really puzzled them, but the message I was putting out was that I needed better material.
24	** During the WGA Writers Strike in 2023, Creator/GregGrunberg [[https://twitter.com/greggrunberg/status/1656847650371829761?s=20 expressed his dissatisfaction with Season 2]] due to the previous writers' strike that affected this series' production.
25	* CreatorCouple: Creator/MatthewJohnArmstrong (Ted Sprague) and Creator/AshleyCrow (Sandra Bennet) are married in real life. In one episode, Ted threatens to kill Sandra. In the episode commentary, Matthew observes, "Yeah, our kids aren't gonna be allowed to watch this one."
26	* CreatorsPest: [[spoiler:Simone Deveaux]] was killed off towards the end of Volume One because the writers ran out of ideas for the character.
27	* TheDanza:
28	** In the Japanese dub, Kimiko Nakamura is voiced by voice actress Saemi Nakamura.
29	** Creator/EricRoberts as Eric Thompson Sr.
30	* DisabledCharacterDisabledActor: Deanne Bray is TV's best known deaf/speaking actress so when the character of Emma was created, she was cast.
31	* ExecutiveVeto: The writers were also originally going to have a gay character in the original script for season 1 [[ExecutiveMeddling but the executives said no]] so in retaliation the writers filled the script to the brim with {{Subtext}} [[{{HoYay/Heroes}} for all of them...]]
32	* FakeAmerican: The Chilean-English Creator/SantiagoCabrera as Isaac Mendez.
33	* FakeBrit: Adam may be British, but Creator/DavidAnders is American.
34	** Young Linderman is played by an American actor. It's very obvious.
35	* FakeNationality:
36	** James Kyson is Korean-American, and doesn't speak any Japanese. He had to rely on Creator/MasiOka and a dialect coach to help him speak the language correctly.
37	** Samuel and Ricky are played by Americans Creator/RobertKnepper and Creator/HoltMcCallany. Will and Caitlin are played by Brits Creator/DominicKeating and Katie Carr.
38	** While Mohinder is from India, Creator/SendhilRamamurthy was born in Chicago and grew up in Texas. Lampshaded by Ando who says (of white people, though): "They all look alike."
39	* FandomLifeCycle: The first season created a huge fanbase. But then season 2, with its quality decay caused by the writer's strike, ensured ''Heroes'' would never rise to the mainstream recognition of ''Series/TheXFiles'' or ''Series/{{Lost}}''. While fandoms usually cool down and become a cult after a show ends, ''Heroes'' arguably got there during the final season.
40	* FandomNod: Sylar explains that he, in fact, does NOT eat brains.
41	** Also in one GN when meeting a trio of evolved humans who think of him as an inspiration, Sylar notes with some surprise "I have... fans!?" most likely a nod to the Sylar fandom.
42	* FollowTheLeader: The series aired right on the heels of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' with it's large ensemble cast, international feel, ongoing story arcs, mythical world-building, etc.
43	* FranchiseKiller: Season 4/Volume 5 ended up being the final season, despite leaving a {{Cliffhanger}}. Opinion is divided over whether or not it was due to Volume 5 itself, or just karma from arguably inferior previous seasons catching up. Actually, not only was the show cancelled, but they also ended up abruptly ending the graphic novels, and original plans for an end-of-series movie was also scrapped as well. It would be another five years until ''Series/HeroesReborn'' would appear. However, after ''Reborn'''s poor showing, it's unlikely that any future television projects would appear.
44	* GayPanic: The first season had some issues with this regarding Claire's friend Zack, who dropped heavy hints that he has reason to empathize with Claire's "freakishness," and was apparently supposed to come out...at least, until ''someone'' (it's uncertain whom) tried to shout that development down, as the actor was up for the part of John Connor in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles''. Nothing ever came of Zack's sexuality, and the fact that the actor has now played a bisexual in a Gregg Araki movie is one of life's little ironies. Perhaps even more ironically (or just fitting) actor Thomas Decker later came out as gay.
45	* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/LeonardRoberts hoped that the role of D. L. Hawkins would be his StarMakingRole, but instead, it [[https://variety.com/2020/tv/features/heroes-leonard-roberts-ali-larter-1234854439/ "nearly broke him."]] Much of it came down to friction with his co-star Creator/AliLarter, who played his character's wife Niki Sanders, and the indifference shown to it by ShowRunner Tim Kring. D. L. and Niki were portrayed as being in a fraught relationship, and this was reflected in Roberts and Larter's interactions, with Larter often dismissing and belittling Roberts and feeling uncomfortable shooting intimate scenes with him. The fact that Larter was white and Roberts was Black also added a racial dimension to their hostility, especially since she had no such reservations about shooting a similar, more explicit scene where she seduces her white co-star Creator/AdrianPasdar. Other people who had worked on the series reported that Larter was a divisive presence in general, and got along poorly with several people on set. During production, ''TV Guide'' published [[https://www.tvguide.com/news/missed-32131/ a blind item]] reporting hostility between two unnamed opposite-sex co-stars to the point where their scenes together had been cut down, and Roberts not only confirmed that it was about him and Larter, he mentions bringing it up with producer Dennis Hammer, who simply assured him that they were taking care of it. When Roberts learned that two other non-white characters, [[spoiler:Isaac and Simone]], were due to be [[BlackDudeDiesFirst killed off]], he started getting nervous about the fate of D. L., culminating in him being pulled into Kring's office with Hammer before the start of production on season 2. There, he was told plainly that the "Ali Larter situation" had led to D. L. being [[BusCrash killed off between seasons]]. The stress of his experience working on ''Heroes'' dealt a serious blow to his career; only in 2017 did he land another major role, as Ray Stabler on ''Series/{{Mom}}''.
46	* IKnewIt: Rebel's identity... if you weren't betting on it being [[spoiler:Hana (though she [[AllThereInTheManual died in the comics]])]].
47	* LoopingLines: Per the DVDCommentary, Creator/SendhilRamamurthy did this for at least one scene where his [[OohMeAccentsSlipping "accent went completely American"]], despite the fact Mohinder is supposed to sound English.
48	** Also used to [[EnhancedOnDVD fix a line for the DVD release]] where, originally, in "Five Years Gone", as broadcast, Matt referred to the Haitian as "Jim", apparently because the actor's name is Creator/JimmyJeanLouis. Oops.
49	* OneTakeWonder: According to Leonard Roberts, [[spoiler:D.L.'s death scene was done in one take]].
50	* TheOtherDarrin: A different actor initially portrayed Chandra Suresh for photos, one of which made it into a recap sequence as aired. The actor portraying him in the old Suresh family photo that appears in Volume 1 is also different from the actor who portrays him (about ten years before the photo was taken) in the Coyote Sands flashback in Volume 4.
51	** Sylar was initially voiced by Creator/MauriceLaMarche and depicted by an extra in a baseball cap and high-collared jacket.
52	* PromotedFangirl: Creator/KristenBell was a fan of the series and had met up with the writers that informed her they would love to have her on the show. While the character of Elle was created before Bell was cast, following her casting, the character was slightly altered to better resemble her.
53	* QueerCharacterQueerActor: There hints in Volume One that Zach is gay. Creator/ThomasDekker came out in 2017.
54	* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle:
55	** Peter's shaggy bangs were a result of Creator/MiloVentimiglia filming his last ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' appearance, ''Film/RockyBalboa'', and the pilot within a short time of each other, thus having no time to get a haircut in between. He hated having the long hair so much that the show wrote in Sylar cutting off a lock of Peter's hair as a reference to his hatred. After the first season finished shooting, he buzzed it all off and kept it fairly short until the final season. Elle giving him a haircut in Season 2 was written in because of it and he had to wear a wig in the flashbacks.
56	** During most of the third season, Creator/HaydenPanettiere had to wear a wig because she cut her hair short in real life.
57	* RecycledSet: When the plot called for a visit to Las Vegas, [[https://www.cbr.com/las-vegas-heroes-connection/ they opted to simply use the standing sets from NBC's]] ''Series/LasVegas'', resulting in the Montecito being the casino.
58	* SparedByTheCut: The writers were originally going to have an EverybodyDiesEnding at the end of season 1 and have a rotating cast each season. They didn't anticipate the characters becoming popular and developing a fanbase or ExecutiveMeddling and it became increasingly difficult to properly use the SuperPowerLottery winners like Peter and Hiro again.
59	* ScullyBox: Creator/HaydenPanettiere and Creator/KristenBell are very petite women, only coming up to 5'1" at best. They either needed the Scully boxes or wore heels in order to fit into scenes against Creator/ZacharyQuinto (6'1) and Creator/JackColeman (6'2").
60	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting:
61	** Creator/AdrianPasdar auditioned to play Creator/MiloVentimiglia's father in a proposed ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' spin-off. The casting director at the time made the comment that Adrian could pass for Milo's brother because of their strong resemblance.
62	** Creator/HaydenPanettiere looks close enough her onscreen birth parents Creator/AdrianPasdar and Jessalyn Gelsig she's wholly believable as their child.
63	* StarMakingRole: For most of the cast, really.
64	** While Creator/HaydenPanettiere, Creator/MiloVentimiglia, Creator/GregGrunberg, and Creator/AdrianPasdar weren't exactly unknown before (Grunberg with a long-running role on ''{{Series/Felicity}}'' and Pasdar as the lead in the short-lived ''{{Series/Profit}}''), but the show definitely increased their acting profiles. Santiago Cabrera's and Sendhil Ramamurthy's UK profiles also were boosted by the show, as most of their post-''Heroes'' jobs have been UK productions.
65	** This show is essentially the reason you know who Creator/ZacharyQuinto is. He's said that the show is how he got his even bigger role as Spock in the ''Star Trek'' reboot films.
66	** Creator/MasiOka often gives nods to the series, either in his new roles or simply in interviews or commercials for Creator/MobiusDigital's games. While he'd had recurrent roles before, Hiro was the character who stuck in everyone's minds and made him recognizable.
67	* ThrowItIn: Creator/ChristopherEccleston ad-libbed his character being named after Creator/ClaudeRains.
68	* UnderageCasting: Cristine Rose, who plays Angela Petrelli, is only 14 years older than Adrian Pasdar. Mohinder's mother is played by Sakina Jaffrey, who's only older than Sendhil Ramamurthy by 12 years.
69	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
70	** The obvious example is how volume 2 was cut short, with plot threads clearly related to the main story ending up going nowhere. A bigger example would be the entire style of the series: The original intent was to have a revolving cast, with most characters not returning in future seasons. What could have been, indeed, if after season 2 we didn't have to deal with most of the [[TangledFamilyTree extended Petrelli family?]]
71	** Had season two been longer, "Exodus" would have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=c3zbLS9DqtY&feature=emb_title ended]] with Peter ''failing'' to stop the Shanti virus, resulting in it being released airborne. Immediately, victims start to pile up and the virus spreads to the edges of Odessa. Nathan leads the Odessa Police Dept., along with Matt, while Peter closes off the main highway into town with a landslide. During a press conference, Nathan announces on national television the spreading of "a deadly virus" and immediately collapses from a fever. The rest of the season would have focused on the main characters dealing with the aftermath. The CDC and National Guard begin to take control of Odessa, reformatting gymnasiums and educational institutions into research labs and shelters. The town is held quarantined, with anyone attempting to leave it gunned down by the National Guard. Claire, in order to save Nathan and reunite with Peter, attempts to force her way into town. Mohinder and Maya would also try to enter the town and try to find a cure. Agent Howard, who Peter met in the future, was set to be the BigBad of this season. He turns out to be an agent for the Company who was tasked with letting the outbreak kill the entire town, as to ensure the secrecy of the Company. In the end, Maya would use her power to absorb the virus, sacrificing herself in the process. Meanwhile, Elle is tasked to capture and bring in Sylar, who is once again acquiring new powers. Thanks to Noah, she learns that she is in-fact just bait for the killer.
72	** Elle was supposed to show up in the "I Am Become Death" future as the mother of the little boy, but conflicts with Creator/KristenBell's filming schedule forced the writers to cut the Sylar[=/=]Elle arc short and kill her off.
73	** Originally, Elle was only meant to be Bob's stepdaughter and Meredith Gordon's daughter, making her Claire's sister, however this idea was dropped due to "lack of storyline and {{plot hole}}s".
74	** Even after Season 2 was cut short and its original plot (the Shanti Virus) halted, Bob Bishop was going to play a larger role in Season 3, probably getting to use his power more and get some development (which, let's be honest, he desperately needed). Unfortunately, Creator/StephenTobolowsky had a terrible riding accident in the months leading up to production, one which nearly paralysed him and put his neck on the mend for ''months''... so they DroppedABridgeOnHim with Sylar killing him offscreen for his ability, and he did little in his few scenes until this happened. To add insult to injury, Sylar never even used said power, and Bob's daughter Elle was killed off anticlimactically (as noted above).
75	** Peter and Nathan were actually written to be ''twins'', but since they had trouble casting the roles, they just aged up Nathan instead. Peter was also originally named Ethan when Creator/MiloVentimiglia read for the role.
76	** Sylar was not originally intended to be a watchmaker, but a middle-aged priest. The character was altered accordingly after Creator/JephLoeb expressed concern that the part was too limiting storywise after a test screening of the original pilot. The character was altered again after Creator/ZacharyQuinto read for the part, which explains why the character was faceless until "Homecoming".
77	** An alternate version of the pilot showed that Ted Sprague's power originally belonged to another character named Amid Halebi. The character was going to be involved with a terrorist plot and was a foreign exchange student who stayed with Matt Parkman's family when they were teens, but Tim Kring felt the storyline was far too controversial and cut it out of the final pilot. Halebi's ability was then reworked into Ted's story.
78	*** In the same original pilot, it was shown that Isaac had gotten to the drugs in order to paint, despite having handcuffed himself, because he used a saw to ''cut off his hand'' -- further explaining why he was in such terrible condition when Simone and Peter found him. The footage was cut and spliced to remove this element. Kring admitted on the DVD Commentary that the reason for this was that original outline had Season 1 lasting months if not a whole year (as opposed to imitating ''Series/{{Lost}}''), during which Isaac was to relearn how to use his hand after it was reattached, in addition to learning to see the future without his drugs; this became impractical when the narrative was condensed into (roughly) six weeks and so was cut from the final product.
79	** Zack in the earliest plans was a geeky girl named Zoe who was to be(come) HeterosexualLifePartners with Claire, before being [[GenderFlip rewritten]] as her AmbiguouslyGay male friend. He was also meant to come out to her in [[WhamEpisode "Homecoming"]] but Creator/{{Thomas Dekker}}'s agent vetoed this due to a belief he'd be typecast in gay roles; she was also the one who pulled him out of the show partway through the back half (he would star as [[Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles John Connor]] later that year), leading to Zack's sudden ChuckCunninghamSyndrome.
80	** Niki was originally supposed to have the power to be in two places at once, which stems from her life as a single mother.
81	** The Haitian was originally a New Zealander called The Kiwi, while Simone Devaux was originally a bohemian white woman named Stella.
82	** The writers had discussed several storyline possibilities for Simone such as pregnancy and becoming another "Horn Rimmed Glasses".
83	** Sylar was originally created as a cannibal who ate his victims' brains and "digested their power"; however, in order to avoid the potential silliness and zombie associations, the producers deliberately made this fact vague in the series.
84	** One of those {{Aborted Arc}}s was to keep Debbie and make her Claire's love interest, with the subtext already written into the character when she was in the first half of the second season. Of course, when the show resumed the gay characters were still being given vetoes (so Debbie may well be gay or bi, this just wasn't shown explicitly). By the time they weren't, Creator/DiannaAgron was playing this character on ''Series/{{Glee}}'' alongside other ''Heroes'' vets.
85	** Creator/EmmaStone auditioned for the role of Claire Bennet.
86	** Music/DavidBowie was the alternate choice for Linderman.
87	** Creator/VincentKartheiser was offered the role of Isaac Mendez.
88	** There were plans to bring Claude back, but Creator/ChristopherEccleston kept turning it down.
89	* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: The writers never planned out the show beyond season 1, with the following one starting an anthology-format with a rotating cast. But given the season one characters instantly became popular sensations, so they were forced to come up with new plots for them on the fly. Which were then knocked down and reshuffled by the writers' strike...
90	* Tim Sale is the artist behind most of the art featured on the show, except for Sylar's art, which was done by Alex Maleev, Peter's first stick figure doodle (done by Jeph Loeb), and Molly's doodles, which the actress did herself. Sale and Jeph Loeb are frequent comics collaborators, which strengthened the show's ties to comics.
91	* The vignettes that aired promoting new characters that would debut in the following season is a technique that originated in ProfessionalWrestling, specifically in Memphis, TN with Wrestling/TheFabulousOnes in the early 1980s and is still used today.

Context Trivia / Heroes