Following the success of "The Dark Knight", Eckhart next appeared in Alan Ball's "Towelhead" (2008), an adaption of the Alicia Erian novel of the same name, in which he played a Gulf War Army reservist who sexually abuses his 13-year-old Arab-American neighbor. The film was screened under the name "Nothing is Private" at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. When he was first approached for the role, Eckhart revealed that he did not want to play a "pedophile". When asked about the sex scenes, Eckhart said: "Those were difficult times ... The way I did it was to really trust Alan. It was in the words. I really trusted Summer , and I tried to get her to trust me, to build a relationship when we were doing physical scenes. We'd really rehearse them mechanically, and I'd say, 'OK, I'm going to put my hand here, I'm going to do this.' ... I think I found it more difficult." "Towelhead" was critically and financially unsuccessful.