Eric Roberts Apologizes To Julia Roberts After Feuding For Decades
One of Hollywood’s most divisive family feuds might be soon coming to an end. Eric Roberts, brother of actress Julia Roberts, recently penned a public apology to his sister that he says is decades overdue. The apology appeared in the actor’s memoir, Runaway Train: Or, the Story of My Life So Far, for what he says were remarks made at the peak of the siblings squabbling during a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair.
What Started The Feud
In that 2018 interview, Eric Roberts stated his intervention in the careers of both sister Julia Roberts and daughter Emma Roberts. “If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Juila Roberts or Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and I’m very proud of that,” he noted before telling a story about how he visited the famed William Morris Talent Agency in the early 1980s and advocated for his sister’s being placed under contract. He then pointed out that he was the first one of the two to get nominations for the Academy Award and Golden Globe.
The Apology
Eric Roberts penned the apology in the memoir, framing it as an “asinine thing to have said,” and further writing that he hopes that Julia Roberts will accept his public apology. He also acknowledged that she, his sister and daughter, needed “love and protection,” while all he gave them was “fear and uncertainty.”
Drug Abuse And Addiction
The ravages of heavy drug use and addiction took their toll on the actor, something that Eric Roberts also apologizes for in the pages of his memoir. He stated that, along with his addiction creating a rift between him and Julia Roberts, that it ultimately cost him a relationship with his daughter, American Horror Story star Emma Roberts. He’s hopeful that his words will help mend the rift that he blames himself for creating.
Eric Roberts’ Career
While Julia Roberts was still finding her footing during the late 1980s with the films Mystic Pizza and Pretty Woman, Eric Roberts had already amassed hundreds of screen credits that ranged anywhere from daytime soap opera appearances to sitcoms to major feature films.
In 1978, he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination for his role of Dave Stepanovic in the film King of the Gypsies. A second nomination followed in 1983 for his role in Star 80, and a third in 1985 for the film Runaway Train (which also garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor).
Eric Roberts Today
The issues that began to create the rift between Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts began shortly after his successes. The actor’s multiple arrests that stemmed from issues involving drugs and alcohol were evident in the late 1980s and persisted throughout the early part of the next decade. Despite the legal issues and addiction, the Nobody’s Fool star was still building quite the film and television resume, however.
Eric Roberts has stayed even busier than sister Julia Roberts in the past decade, appearing in seven episodes of the hit HBO series The Righteous Gemstones with John Goodman and securing roles in more than three dozen feature-length and short films since 2022.
Sources: Men’s Journal
