Hamilton man featured in 'Arrival,' but couldn't get tickets to see it

Hal Roberts is lucky enough to be in a movie generating early Oscar buzz it's just a shame he couldn't get in to see it himself.

Roberts plays a newscaster in Arrival, the Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner film opening this weekend that is garnering rave reviews.

It screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) back in September, and so naturally, the Hamilton native wanted to get in and see if his appearance had made it past the cutting room floor (which it did, he's told).

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The only problem was, Roberts couldn't get tickets.

To see a movie that he's actually in.

"I tried desperately to get into TIFF, but I couldn't," Roberts said with a laugh. "What irony, huh?"

So instead, he's going to see the movie for the first time tonight, just in advance of its widespread opening in theatres on Nov. 11.

"I had no idea Arrival would be this big. It was such a cool experience."

All signs point to Arrival being a massive success. It's being described as "thinking man's sci-fi" kind of like the polar opposite of this summer'sIndependence Day sequel (which we should never speak of, ever again).

The story follows Adams, Renner and Forest Whitaker as they experience the panic that follows a wave of mysterious spacecraft landings across the globe.

In the film, which was directed by Canadian Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario), Adams and Renner are recruited by the U.S. military to communicate with the aliens, and figure out exactly what they want.

Currently, the movie is sitting at a hefty 95 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, and is generating widespread acclaim.

Roberts, who has produced business shows on CHCH and BNN, plays a newscaster, trying to make sense of what's happening.

His stint on set in Montreal was quick a 6:30 a.m. call, his scene starting at 8 a.m., and then finished by 8:15 a.m.

"We used a teleprompter which was nice, that was right up my alley," he said. "It's art imitating life, or life imitating art."

Roberts raved about working with Villeneuve, who he says was incredibly humble and approachable.

Now all that's left is to check out the movie for himself.

You can do the same this weekend Roberts pops up towards the end (or so he's told).

adam.carter@cbc.ca