Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor.[1][2] Roberts has amassed more than 700 credits and is one of the most prolific English-speaking screen actors.[3][4][5]
Eric Anthony Roberts was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, on April 18, 1956,[6] to Betty Lou Bredemus and Walter Grady Roberts, one-time actors and playwrights, who met while touring with a production of George Washington Slept Here for the armed forces.[7] In 1963, they co-founded the Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop in Atlanta off Juniper Street in Midtown. They ran a children's acting school in Decatur, Georgia. Roberts' mother became a church secretary and real estate agent, and his father was a vacuum cleaner salesman.[8] Roberts' younger siblings, Julia Roberts (from whom he was estranged until 2004) and Lisa Roberts Gillan, are also actors.
In 1971, Roberts' parents filed for divorce, which was finalized in early 1972.[9] He stayed with his father, who died of cancer in March 1977,[7][10] in Atlanta.[7] After the divorce, his sisters moved with their mother to Smyrna, a suburb of Atlanta.[7] In 1972, their mother married Michael Motes. In 1976, they had a daughter,[7] Nancy Motes, who died February 9, 2014, at age 37, of an apparent drug overdose.[11] Michael Motes was abusive and often unemployed. In 1983, she divorced Motes, citing "cruelty"; she later said that marrying him was the biggest mistake of her life.[12]
He made his acting debut in 1974, appearing on the soap opera How to Survive a Marriage.[3] He also appeared on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World originating the role of Ted Bancroft from February 14 to June 17, 1977.
Roberts co-starred on the ABC situation comedy Less than Perfect. He appeared in an episode of CSI: Miami as Ken Kramer, a murderer on death row convicted of killing a young couple. Another notable TV appearance was the episode "Victims" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit where he played Sam Winfield, a former cop turned vigilante. In the same year, he was also guest-starred on The L Word as Gabriel McCutcheon, the father of Shane McCutcheon.
In 2003, Roberts also appeared in The Killers' music video for their song "Mr. Brightside", later reprising the role in the music video for their 2012 single "Miss Atomic Bomb".[21]
In 2006, he starred in the drama movie A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.[23] The movie was a success and earned $2,035,468 at the box-office and holds a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[24] He appeared in the video for Akon's "Smack That", featuring Eminem.[25] The same year, he had a role in the romantic comedy film Phat Girlz, starring Mo'Nique, which receive good reviews and generate $7,401,890 in theaters worldwide.[26] He had a major role in the British-German-American martial arts action film DOA: Dead or Alive, based on the famous videogame of the same name, which grossed $7.5 million on a budget of $30 million.[27]
In early January 2007, Roberts starred in the two-part miniseries Pandemic as the mayor of Los Angeles.[28] In 2007, he appeared in the video for Godhead's "Hey You". He appeared as a panelist on the television game show Hollywood Squares.
In February 2009, Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke, who starred with Roberts in The Pope of Greenwich Village, said he hoped that Roberts would soon be offered a role which would resurrect his career in the way that The Wrestler rejuvenated Rourke's.[30] He portrayed Seth Blanchard on the second season of the Starz series Crash, from 2009. In 2009, Roberts appeared as himself in "Tree Trippers", a season five episode of Entourage. He is portrayed as a mushroom and drug fanatic as he gives the boys mushrooms and joins them in Joshua Tree National Park to trip as they contemplate Vince's next movie decision. The same year, he appeared in the independent movie The Chaos Experiment, starring Val Kilmer which had a limited theatrical release, playing to small audiences on two screens for one week in Grand Rapids, and for one week in nearby Lansing.[31] He also appeared in the independent movie Rock Slyde, starring Patrick Warburton, Andy Dick, Rena Sofer, and Elaine Hendrix.[32][33] He had the main role in the action movie The Butcher.[34] He was acted in the psychological thriller film Royal Kill.[35] He also appeared in the Canadian-American thriller Bloodwork.[36][37]
It was announced in June 2010 that he would be joining the cast of the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless starting July 12.[38] The following month saw the release of the action film The Expendables in which Roberts plays a lead villain. It was directed by and starred Sylvester Stallone, with Jason Statham, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Gary Daniels, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, David Zayas, and Mickey Rourke. The film is about a group of elite mercenaries called The Expendables (Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Couture, and Crews) who are on a mission to overthrow dictator General Garza (Zayas) in Vilena, an island in the Gulf of Mexico. It is revealed that an ex-CIA officer James Munroe (Roberts) is keeping Garza in power as a figurehead for his own profiteering operations. With his two deadly bodyguards Dan Paine (Austin) and The Brit (Daniels), they become a major obstacle in the way of The Expendables.[39] Later that year, he appeared with Steve Austin and Gary Daniels, his co-stars from The Expendables, in the 2010 action film Hunt to Kill. In October 2010, he played the major role in the American family movie First Dog, which received positive reviews.[40] December 2010 saw the premiere of the fourth season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which documented Roberts' struggle with dependency on medical marijuana.[41] His wife Eliza and his stepson Keaton Simons appeared in episode 6 to discuss the effects of his addiction on their lives.[42]
In 2011, he guest-starred in USA Network's Burn Notice season 5 finale ("Fail Safe") as an "off the books" spy recruiter. In the same year, he acted in the drama and family film Shannon's Rainbow, based on Mowod's own experiences seeing his brother rehabilitate an injured horse and win a championship horse race.[43][44][45][46] Later that year he acted in the horror comedy anthology film Chillerama, consisting of four stories, with each segment being an homage to a different genre and style.[47] The movie was acclaimed by critics and has gained a cult following.[48][49]
2012–2015
Roberts at the 2015 Florida Supercon
Roberts starred in the 2012 mystery thriller Deadline, playing the role of politically incorrect reporter Ronnie Bullock.[50] He appeared in the horror film Snow White: A Deadly Summer, directed by David DeCoteau.[51] He is featured as Uncle Shadrack, head of a Romani family, in 2012's The Finder on FOX. He had a recurring role in the TV series The Finder as a gypsy who had the title of king among a gypsy community in southern Florida. The same year, he was starred in the catastrophe movie The Mark.[52] He also appeared in the Christmas comedy film Christmas in Compton, starring Keith David and Omar Gooding, which received positives reviews.[53]
The Nigerian comedy drama movie A Trip to Jamaica, starring Eric Roberts, Ayo Makun, Funke Akindele, Nse Ikpe Etim, and Dan Davies, had its worldwide premiere on September 25, 2016, in Lagos State.[66] In November 2016, the film was reported to have grossed 168 million naira, breaking the previous record set by 30 Days in Atlanta. It also broke records for the first film to hit 35 million in first weekend, the first film to hit 62 million in its first week, the fastest film to gross 100 million (17 days) and the fastest film to gross 150 million (six weeks).[67] It opened at the Odeon Cinemas in London in December 2016 and became the highest-grossing film that weekend in London while also becoming the highest per screen average film in the UK during its limited run.[68][69] It won the Africa Entertainment Legends Award (AELA) for Best Cinema Film of 2016 and received four nominations at the 2017 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, including categories for best actress in a comedy, best writer, best movie (West Africa) and best actor in a comedy. The award show was held in March 2017 in Lagos State.[70][71] The same year, Roberts was featured in season 4 of the hit American TV show Brooklyn Nine-Nine; he portrayed the character of Jimmy Figgis.[72] He played Robert Avery in Grey's Anatomy.
In a 2018 Vanity Fair interview, Roberts traced his prolific filmography to when he stopped getting consistent offers from major film studios and started doing B movies. "I start making a bunch of B movies—bam bam bam bam bam bam—one after the other, and then suddenly two, three years have passed, and I made like 30 films in two, three years," Roberts recalled.[79] He was executive producer for the film Beverly Hills Bandits, which he also acted in with Ron Jeremy and Natasha Alam.[80]
In 2019, he starred in the crime thriller drama Night Walk, starring Mickey Rourke.[81] He had a major role in the action movie The Reliant, alongside Kevin Sorbo. He also appears on the sci-fi movie The Immortal Wars: Resurgence. He acted in the crime/thriller 90 Feet From Home, including Dean Cain. He also played a supporting role in the family movie A Karate Christmas Miracle.[82] Also in 2019, 23 years after initially playing the role, Roberts reprised his version of the Master, working with Big Finish Productions. He made his debut in series 5 of the spinoff series, The Diary of River Song. Later that year, he appeared in the finale of the Eighth Doctor story line, Ravenous, once more working opposite Paul McGann.
Since 2020
In 2020, he starred in several movies including Reboot Camp, Angels Fallen, The Unbreakable Sword, Deported, Collision Earth, Hayalet: 3 Yasam and Top Gunner.[83] Furthermore, he starred in the DC Comics short movie Pamela & Ivy[84] and appeared in the fan-made movie Gambit: Playing for Keeps.[85]
Roberts reprised the role of the Master in Doctor Who audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions.[86][87] In January 2021, Roberts reprised the role of the Master in Masterful, a special audio drama release celebrating the 50th anniversary of the debut of that character. In March 2021, he appeared in his own spinoff series, Master! as well. The same year, he took part in the horror movie Escape to the Cove, appeared in the acclaimed short drama The Sleepless, guest starred again in season 17, episode 14 on the TV show Grey's Anatomy, acted in the comedy Peach Cobbler, starred in the TV movie Mommy's Deadly Con Artist. He was also involved in the drama movie After Masks, the horror film 616 Wilford Lane and the comedy Mr. Birthday. In 2022, he co-starred with Lana Wood in Dog Boy, and as a recurring character in the second season of the HBO series The Righteous Gemstones In 2023, he was a guest star at Season 2 South Wind: On the Edge (created by Miloš Avramović) together with Miloš Biković and William Baldwin.
In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Roberts announced his support for Ukraine. He claims he was "one of the biggest stars" in Russia, however, he said, "I was canceled right away and couldn't work there. But we're so disappointed in Putin, I wouldn't want to go there anyway. But that was half my income, from working in Russia. So I go to other places now."[4]
In September 2024, Roberts was announced as one of the celebrities competing on season 33 of Dancing with the Stars. He is partnered with Britt Stewart.[88] Roberts' memoir, Runaway Train: or, The Story of My Life So Far, was published through St. Martin's Press on September 17, 2024. It was co-written with Vanity Fair contributor Sam Kashner.[89]
Personal life
Ancestry
On a 2023 episode of Finding Your Roots featuring his sister Julia, it was revealed that their biological paternal great-great-grandfather's surname was actually Mitchell, not Roberts.[90] Eric Roberts is a distant cousin of fellow actor Edward Norton.[91]
Relationships and family
A 1989 profile of actress Sandy Dennis in People says she had a live-in relationship with Roberts for five years in a seven-bedroom house she rented in Connecticut.[92] The relationship began several years after her 1974 parting from boyfriend Gerry Mulligan, a jazz musician who had lived with Dennis in the same house (whose Connecticut location was identified as Westport or Wilton in different People magazine articles).[92]
In 1981, some months after Roberts began living with Dennis, he was in a debilitating car accident near their home.[93] His ordeal was described by People magazine years later as "a month-long hospital stay after a bad car accident in 1981." Leaving the Wilton house he lived in with Dennis, Roberts went for a Jeep ride with his girlfriend's German Shepherd. When the dog seemed to lean out too far, Roberts tried to get hold of him. He let go of the steering wheel, and the car ended up hitting a tree. He was in a coma for three days.[93] Dennis, an animal lover who cared for many dogs and cats, was relieved to learn her German Shepherd was not injured in the accident.[94] Roberts recovered and his live-in relationship with Dennis lasted a few more years. Author James Spada claimed that it came to an end because of his affair with actress Ellen Barkin,[9] while Roberts cited Dennis' refusal to start an animal shelter for some 100 stray cats living in the couple's shared home as the reason for their split.[79]
Roberts broke off engagements with Dennis[95] and actress Dana Wheeler-Nicholson.[93] He has a daughter, Emma, from a live-in relationship with Kelly Cunningham;[96] Emma was born on February 10, 1991.[96] She eventually became an actress as well, making her major-film debut at age 10 in the 2001 drama Blow.[96] After Roberts' relationship with Cunningham, he married Eliza Garrett (daughter of screenwriters David Rayfiel and Lila Garrett) in 1992.[97][98] His stepson, Keaton Simons, is a singer-songwriter, and his stepdaughter, Morgan Simons, is a chef. Roberts became a grandfather for the first time in December 2020 when Emma gave birth to her first child, a son named Rhodes, with actor Garrett Hedlund.[99]
On January 12, 2001, Roberts visited The Howard Stern Radio Show with Garrett, during a segment called "The Gossip Game" with Mike Walker of the National Enquirer. He confirmed that he and his sister, Julia, had been estranged for several years. The source of the estrangement had been his past drug abuse and her siding with his ex-girlfriend over the custody of his daughter. In 2004, he told People magazine that he and his sister reconciled when he visited her in the hospital after she gave birth to twins.[100]
Legal issues
In December 1987, Roberts was arrested after police found him banging on a woman's apartment door in Manhattan's Upper West Side. He was charged with criminal trespass, possession of cocaine and marijuana, and second-degree assault after he punched a police officer.[101] In February 1988, he pleaded guilty to harassment and was sentenced to six months on probation. His possession and assault charges were dropped.[102]
In February 1995, Roberts was arrested in Los Angeles for shoving his wife Eliza into a wall.[103]
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. The films in which she has starred have collectively grossed over $3.9 billion globally, making her one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. After an early breakthrough with appearances in Mystic Pizza (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989), Roberts established herself as a leading actress when she headlined the top-grossing romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990).
Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone is an American actor and filmmaker. In a film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Critics' Choice Award, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and two BAFTA Awards. Stallone is one of only two actors in history to have starred in a box-office No. 1 film across six consecutive decades.
Walter Bruce Willis is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series Moonlighting (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero for his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard franchise (1988–2013).
Edward Allen Harris is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in Apollo 13 (1995), The Truman Show (1998), Pollock (2000), and The Hours (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award nominations.
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in Breaking Away (1979), The Right Stuff (1983), The Big Easy (1986), Innerspace (1987), Great Balls of Fire! (1989), Dragonheart (1996), The Parent Trap (1998), Frequency (2000), The Rookie (2002), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), In Good Company (2004), Flight of the Phoenix (2004), Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), and Vantage Point (2008). Quaid received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Far from Heaven (2002). In 2009, The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.
Stanley Tucci Jr. is an American actor. Known as a character actor, he has played a wide variety of roles ranging from menacing to sophisticated. Tucci has earned numerous accolades, including six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Tony Award.
Ned Thomas Beatty was an American actor. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 film and television roles. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest actor in Hollywood". His film appearances included Deliverance (1972), White Lightning (1973), All the President's Men (1976), Network (1976), Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Back to School (1986), Rudy (1993), Shooter (2007), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Rango (2011). He also had the series regular role of Stanley Bolander in the first three seasons of the hit NBC TV drama Homicide: Life on the Street.
Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. is an American actor. Known for his roles in film and television, he has received multiple accolades including two Golden Globe Awards, two Grammy Awards, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and 11 Primetime Emmy Awards.
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor. Rudd studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in July 2015, and was included on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2019. In 2021, he was named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive".
Eric Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He played Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask (1985), which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.
Jason Statham is an English actor and producer. He is known for portraying tough, gritty, or violent characters in various action thriller films, and has been credited for leading the resurgence of action films during the 2000s and 2010s. By 2017, his films had grossed over £1.1 billion, making him one of the industry's most bankable stars.
Sam Rockwell is an American actor. He is known for playing distressed police officer Jason Dixon in Martin McDonagh’s crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was nominated in the same category the following year for portraying George W. Bush in Adam McKay's political satire Vice (2018). In 2019, he portrayed Bob Fosse in the FX biographical miniseries Fosse/Verdon, earning a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award, and in 2022, he received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo.
Emma Rose Roberts is an American actress, singer and producer. Known for her performances spanning multiple genres of film and television, her work in the horror and thriller genres have established her as a scream queen. Roberts has received various accolades including a Young Artist Award, an MTV Movie & TV Award, and a ShoWest Award.
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances in 500 Days of Summer (2009) and 50/50 (2011). He is the founder of the online media platform HitRecord whose projects such as HitRecord on TV (2014–15) and Create Together (2020) won him two Primetime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Interactive Program.
Andrew Russell Garfield is a British and American actor. He came to international attention in 2010 with the supporting role of Eduardo Saverin in the drama The Social Network. He gained wider recognition for playing Spider-Man in the superhero films The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and later in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
Paul Franklin Dano is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance for his role in L.I.E. (2001) and gained wider recognition for playing a troubled teenager in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). For playing identical twins in Paul Thomas Anderson's period drama There Will Be Blood (2007), he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor. Known for starring in both major studio productions and independent films, Pattinson is among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and he was also featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100. Born and raised in Barnes, London, England, Pattinson started acting at age fifteen in a London theatre club. He made his early screen appearances in supporting roles in the films Ring of the Nibelungs and Vanity Fair.
Lucas Hedges is an American actor. A son of filmmaker Peter Hedges, he studied theater at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Hedges began his acting career with a supporting role in Wes Anderson's comedy-drama Moonrise Kingdom (2012). He had his breakthrough in 2016 playing a sardonic teenager in Kenneth Lonergan's drama Manchester by the Sea, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, among other accolades. Hedges then starred as an aggressive youth in an off-Broadway production of Yen and had supporting roles in the coming-of-age film Lady Bird and the drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017.
Julia Roberts is an American actress and producer who made her debut in the 1987 direct-to-video feature Firehouse. She had her breakthrough the following year by starring in the coming-of-age film Mystic Pizza (1988). For her supporting role in the comedy-drama Steel Magnolias (1989), she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Roberts' next role was opposite Richard Gere in the highly successful romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy. In 1991, she appeared in the psychological thriller Sleeping with the Enemy, and played Tinker Bell in the Steven Spielberg-directed fantasy adventure Hook. Two years later, Roberts starred in the legal thriller The Pelican Brief, an adaptation of the John Grisham novel of the same name. During the late 1990s, she played the lead in the romantic comedies My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Notting Hill (1999), and Runaway Bride (1999).
Barry Keoghan is an Irish actor. His accolades include a BAFTA Award, along with nominations for an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2020, he was listed at number 27 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
