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| Birth Name(s) : Eric Anthony Roberts |
Date of Birth: April 18, 1956 |
| Status:
Married
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Partner:
Eliza Roberts |
| Profession:
Actor |
Official Site
Go to the Eric Roberts Official Homepage |
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Full Eric Roberts Biography
This accomplished, offbeat actor began appearing in stage productions by the age of 5. After studying at both the London Academy of Dramatic Art and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he made his film debut in King of the Gypsies (1978), and stardom was predicted for him. Roberts turned out to be choosy, however, and was drawn to dark, offbeat characters, such as those in Raggedy Man (1981) and Miss Lonelyhearts (1983).
He got his best opportunities in Star 80 (also 1983), as the psychotic husband of doomed Playmate, Dorothy Stratten, and The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), as Mickey Rourke's screw-up cousin. These showy performances were followed by The Coca-Cola Kid (1985) and Runaway Train (1985), which earned him an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor. His choices thereafter were erratic at best, as were his performances.
The darkly handsome Roberts has turned out to be more effective in antihero and villainous parts in recent years-as in Final Analysis (1992). Other credits include Nobody's Fool (1986), To Heal a Nation (1988 telefilm, as the Vietnam vet who championed a Washington, D.C., memorial), Best of the Best (1989), Rude Awakening (also 1989, a rare comedy performance), Blood Red (1990), The Ambulance (1991), Best of the Best 2 (1993), "Free Fall" (miniseries), Love Is a Gun and The Specialist (all 1994). His superstar sister Julia made an early acting appearance in his starring vehicle Blood Red. |
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Additional Eric Roberts Biography
Eric Anthony Roberts (born on April 18, 1956, in Biloxi, Mississippi) is an Academy Award-nominated American film and stage actor. He was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, attended Grady High School, and is the older brother of actresses Lisa Roberts Gillan and Julia Roberts as well as the father of actress Emma Roberts and stepfather of singer/songwriter Keaton Simons. Eric also has a half sister named Nancy Motes who was born in 1976 from his mother's second marriage.
He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1985 for his role as the escaped convict Buck in the film Runaway Train. In 1987, he won the Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut performance in Burn This.
His other starring roles include Star 80 (1983), The Raggedy Man, The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), The Coca-Cola Kid (1985), Rude Awakening (1988), Best of the Best (1989), By the Sword (1991), The Specialist (1994), The Immortals (1995), La Cucaracha (1998), and Con Games (2001). In 1996, he appeared in the Doctor Who TV movie in the role of the Master. He also appears in the 2000 film Race Against Time as a father who sells his organs to pay for hospital treatment for his son and in the 2003 film Spun as "The Man" alongside Mickey Rourke and Jason Schwartzmann. He also performed the voice of Dark Danny in Nickelodeon's Danny Phantom.
Roberts recently starred in Royal Kill, a psychological thriller that also stars Pat Morita, Lalaine, and Gail Kim and is directed by Babar Ahmed.
Roberts appeared as a panelist on the television game show Hollywood Squares. Most recently, Roberts has co-starred on the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect.
Roberts also appeared in The Killers' music video for their song "Mr. Brightside" as well as in the music videos for Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" and "It's Like That". In 2006, he appeared in the video for Akon's "Smack That", featuring Eminem. And in 2007, he appeared in the video for Godhead's "Hey You".
He appeared in an episode of CSI: Miami as Ken Kramer, a murderer on death row convicted of killing a young couple.
In early January 2007, Roberts starred in the two-part mini-series Pandemic as the mayor of Los Angeles.
He has recently joined the cast of Heroes as Thompson, an associate of Mr. "Horn-Rimmed Glasses" Bennet.
Roberts has joined the Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, as Sal Maroni, an organized crime boss.
An episode of the satiric cartoon series South Park featured Roberts as a star in a re-enactment of America's Most Wanted. He plays the genetically engineered half-man, half-monkey sidekick of the character Mephisto, where he overacts his part. During the re-enactment's taping, a snowstorm forces a group of characters to resort to cannibalism. Roberts is the first casualty because, as the mayor of South Park puts it, "No one gives a shit about Eric Roberts."
He was also name-checked in an episode of Seinfeld; after giving away the ending of the film, Kramer tells George that Roberts' performance as the husband in the film The Other Side of Darkness was "unforgettable."
He was portrayed as a clay figure on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch where he fought alongside his sister, Julia, against Donny and Marie Osmond.
Eric was parodied in the web cartoon series College University, participating in a martial arts competition for washed-up action stars. He never got to compete, though, as the Transformer Optimus Prime knocked him out and stole his name tag. It should be noted that although in writing he was dubbed Eric Roberts, throughout the entire episode everybody referred to him as "Julia Roberts' Brother." The cartoon can be viewed at College University Character Bios.
Also, SFX when listing previous Masters in Doctor Who, put in Roberts' category: "Out-acted by a CGI snake in the same production."
Roberts married Eliza Garrett in 1992. His daughter Emma has joined her father and aunts in the acting business. She has a starring role on the Nickelodeon series Unfabulous and has appeared in the films Blow (2001), Aquamarine (2006) and starred in Nancy Drew (2007) as the title character.
On January 12, 2001, Eric visited The Howard Stern Radio Show with his wife during a segment called "The Gossip Game" with Mike Walker of the National Enquirer on the telephone and shared a bit of personal information. He clarified that it does not bother him to be Julia Roberts' brother, but it does bother him to be introduced as her brother instead of as an actor in his own right. Eric shared that he and Julia had not seen each other in six years and that they really do not know each other in the way most siblings do, since they only lived in the same house until Julia was three years old and then never lived together afterwards. When Eric confirmed that he was not invited to Julia's wedding, Howard demanded that Julia contact Eric immediately and make things right. This prompted Eric to admit that up until ten years earlier, he was a "severe, drug-taking idiot" and his family had stopped talking to him. He also shared that his daughter, Emma (who was nine years old at the time), and Julia are "close" despite the fact Eric and Julia do not see each other. When Eric was asked by a caller about his involvement in martial arts and replied that he has trained in tae kwon do and jujitsu. At the end of the interview, Eric insisted that Howard call his stepson, Keaton, who sang "Happy Birthday" to Howard. |
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