He tells us, "My wife figured out that because I was going back and forth doing the Sly Stallone movie -- going back and forth between New Orleans for the movie and New Mexico for the series -- and because his movie was in night shoots -- in eight days, I got 12 hours' sleep."

In "The Expendables," Roberts plays a sadist who's impervious to other people's pain. The movie, a story of mercenary soldiers in South America, boasts an ensemble cast including Stallone, Roberts, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Terry Crews and even a cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

They shot in Brazil for five weeks, then nearly six weeks in New Orleans, and Roberts was tired from the rigors of shooting the action picture before even beginning his "Crash" double duty.

"It was hell, doll. It was rough," says Roberts, who tends toward Hollywood-style effusiveness with lots of "darlings" and such peppering his conversation. "But, thanks to this crew and my wife, they pulled me through. And now, I'm having a great time on this show, I really am.

"You know, nobody -- when they work in movies and/or TV -- nobody ever mentions the most important backbone to it all and that's your crew. I think back to 1982, doing a movie for Bob Fosse called 'Star 80.' That's the last time I loved a crew this much. They're great technicians, great people. They like actors."

On "Crash" -- which has its new season premiere Sept. 18 -- Roberts will be seen as billionaire entrepreneur Seth Blanchard, who's trying to bring an NFL franchise to poor, pro football-starved Los Angeles. Roberts already has people guessing who inspired the character. Is he real?

"He is real in my homework about him. I think about three people and I ball them up for him," Roberts deadpans, "and one of them is Bill Gates, sure."

He loves working with good friend Dennis Hopper, he says, "and I want to mention Ross McCall, an actor I'm crazy about. I'm a huge fan of his as an actor and as a person. He's so good as a person, he's my new best friend on this shoot. He plays my head of security of my business."