Chris Cornell dead: Eric Roberts, star of singer's solo music video, pays tribute

'The only message we ever knew him to send was one of hope and the unselfishness of self-respect'

Eric Roberts, the star of one of Chris Cornell's most famous music videos, has paid tribute to the singer who is believed to have taken his own life on Wednesday (17 May).

The Dark Knight and Expendables actor, who appeared in the video of Cornell's 2015 song 'Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart,' expressed to Variety how they had bonded over “respect, admiration and pure love for our kids.”

Roberts said: “Chris was a longtime sober guy, and had boundless sensitivity to the depression and self-abuse that can occur among artists at every level, having their day in the sun, hoping for their day and re-discovering their day. The only message we ever knew him to send was one of hope and the unselfishness of self-respect.”

Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Cornell was found dead aged 52 on a hotel bathroom floor in Detroit, Michigan.

Reflecting upon their time shooting the video, Roberts continued: “What we were most struck by during our boiling hot days on set shooting the video was that Chris was the warmest, most mama-bear-like dad we had every known,” he said. “He glowed way more talking about his kids that day than he did from the heat. His youngest, his son, was in the video and was a natural. He had his dad’s presence.”