Note to Eric Roberts: You're allowed to say "No!"

I think it is great that he is working; I think he is a better actor than Julia.

He probably takes whatever work he can get. These aren't big budget films.

That's gotta be wrong. I've never seen anything like that on IMDb.

Poor Eric. He had such early promise with acclaimed performances in movies like Star 80 and The Pope of Greenwich Village.

Then he became king of the C-movies.

Great post, OP, I've never seen a list anything near the length of his. Is there another actor with such a plethora of projects?

If, as he's said, it helps him stay sober, he can make a thousand films a year for all I care. Good on him.

he knows most people won't see 90% of that dreck anyway.

At least he didn't make fun of that obese half-sister who killed herself. Or did he?

I saw him on Broadway and he was electric.

"They took my thumb, Charlie!"

So disturbing, so hot, both of them so sexy/handsome and such good acting.

"The summer wind, came blowing in..."

Way better actor than that bitch sister of his!

Good for him. Meryl's apparently never turned down a film, why should he? I'm sure he makes about 1/100th of what she makes per film.

Who?

I read some of a biography of Julia Roberts. Seems that whole family is REALLY fucked up mentally.

Eric Roberts was really good-looking at one time. His face got smashed in a motorcycle accident and that destroyed his career as a romantic lead. He really is a good actor who's given some fine performances, but he seems typecast playing sleazebags.

He had a long relationship with the very nutty, older Sandy Dennis. Weird.

"At least he didn't make fun of that obese half-sister who killed herself. Or did he?"

Julia's dead?!? I knew she would be number 3!

Star 80 and the Coca Cola Kid were really good.

He was very funny in the TV show Less than Perfect.

He was on Celebrity rehab and his wife made an appearance. OMG, what a hag. No way he is still fucking that. He must have some side action going on.

He's been on the last few episodes of USA Network's Suits playing an unscrupulous billionaire, as if there were any other kind. He was not kind to Louis Litt.

I've only seen him in Star 80, and, as already mentioned, he was so good in that movie. His performance stayed with me for a while. A couple of years ago I saw an episode of Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab and there was Eric Roberts, sitting in the rehab facility talking about his addiction to marijuana. I couldn't believe that such a good actor had fallen so far as to appear on a reality show, and with the awful Dr Drew.

^ (Sorry, I didn't see that R16 had already mentioned Celebrity Rehab. I read the thread, but somehow missed that detail.)

[quote]He had a long relationship with the very nutty, older Sandy Dennis.

Sandy Dennis was gay.

Does this mean Eric likes the peen?

I liked him in The Dark Knight. I still think he's hot!

It's not like he's only in junk. 99% junk, yes, but he does manage to land a decent role every now and then. He had that small part in The Dark Knight, and he's in Inherent Vice. He also was on an episode(maybe two) of Justified.

I wonder if he chose to only aim for "meaningful", roles again if he'd be able to have a solid comeback.

Sexy

It is a bit odd that he doesn't show up on either the big or small screen more often. I'd compare him to Gary Cole. Pretty damn versatile. Maybe TV doesn't appeal to him. Do any of you remember Rude Awakening (1989)? I saw it when it was released and thought it was a cute comedy but iirc it got lukewarm to shitty reviews. Cheech Marin and Julie Hagerty co-starred along with appearances from Louise Lasser, Cindy Williams, and Andrea Martin.

I'm just glad he's working. Good for him. That's the mark of a true actor to me. Sure, he probably knows that many of these scripts aren't great, but like someone else said, he probably also knows that no one's gonna see 'em anyway.

I think he's due for a comeback.

Should be given a life thyme achievement award st the Oscars.

R26, more life Lifetime Network achievement award.

R26, more like Lifetime Network achievement award.

Why not? Think of all the actors who can barely find work and who never "make it" in any sense of the term. So, he works a lot. Good for him. It pays the bills.

Yes he was sleazy but HOT in The Dark Knight.

R30, totally agree. I find him very sexy. Is his hair real?

He looks better to me now than he did years ago. Aging has blunted the sleaze-look.

Cocaine is expensive, OP.

He was on celebrity wife swap and he lives in a tiny house. His wife does every single thing for him.

She manages him and does his publicity, too, I understand. She's from showbiz parents and is a handful of years older than him.

Same with Christopher Walken and Michael Madsen. Walken was open about not being able to say no and Madsen was open about needing money (5 kids,I think,at least). What`s Eric`s reason?

Actually ,come to think of it,to have something to keep you busy and working all the time is reason good enough.

Eric also did a stint on The Young and the Restless, playing a high powered attorney. He was actually quite good.

Last year, he had a supporting role as Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in a very low budget movie about Bonnie and Clyde that looked like a film class project. Dee Wallace also co-stars as Bonnies mother.

[quote]A couple of years ago I saw an episode of Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab and there was Eric Roberts, sitting in the rehab facility talking about his addiction to marijuana. I couldn't believe that such a good actor had fallen so far as to appear on a reality show, and with the awful Dr Drew.

He had a hilarious guest role in ENTOURAGE's 5th season (2008) in which he portrayed himself as a stoner. He also gets the guys high on mushrooms in Joshua Tree.

Emma Roberts (AMERICAN HORROR STORY, WE'RE THE MILLERS) is his daughter. Why can't she help him get better work? Do they have a good relationship? I know she's on good terms with her Aunt Julia and Julia and Eric are on the outs, so probably not?

Agreed R15. Been watching the repeats on ABC Spark and I'd forgotten what a blast that show was in the first few seasons.

I am pretty sure, but not certain that Julia and Eric are estranged. At least they were a few years ago. Don't know the circumstances. I believe Julia kind of mentors his daughter.

Eric did get Julia started in the business, introduced her to agents etc. So apparently whatever he has done since, she finds unforgivable even though she might never have had a career without his connections and introductions.

I'll never forget an old interview with Julia where she made an idiotic comment that she always wanted to work with Johnny Depp because she thought they could pass for brother and sister. I remember thinking, "you know who could REALLY pass for your brother, Julia?----your own fucking brother. Why don't you help him get some quality work?"

"Sandy Dennis was gay."

Really? I never heard that. Anyway, she had two long-term relationships with men; the jazz musician Gerry Mulligan and Eric Roberts. According to Wikipedia:

Dennis lived with prominent jazz musician Gerry Mulligan from 1965 until they split up in 1974. Although Mulligan often referred to Dennis as his second wife, Dennis later revealed that they had never married. She also lived with actor Eric Roberts from 1980 to 1985.

In an interview with People magazine in 1989, Dennis revealed she and Gerry Mulligan had suffered a miscarriage in 1965 and went on to say, "if I'd been a mother, I would have loved the child, but I just didn't have any connection with it when I was pregnant ... I never, ever wanted children. It would have been like having an elephant."

Supposedly Emma Roberts is already a snot-nosed cunt like her Auntie Julia.

I can't see any family resemblance between Eric and Julia. Emma is a very pretty girl, although with limited talent. Despite that she seems to be doing pretty well in Hollywood.

"I can't see any family resemblance between Eric and Julia."

Both of them have the big eyes and big lips that are characteristic of the Roberts clan. Eric looked a lot more like her before his motorcycle accident. He was so good-looking back then, and in an unusual way.

Eric and his cuckoo wife were on celebrity wife swap with Robin Leach and his wife. I think Robin Leach was trying to figure out a civilized way to slit her throat without getting blood on his imported marble tile.

r47, Eric before the motorcycle accident that mangled his face. See the resemblance now?

WOW, R50!

He co-starred with Brooke Shields as his sister in "King of the Gypsies" before the accident, and they were well matched in looks. Both as pretty as the other.

The accident was devastating. He had to re-learn how to speak and how to walk. He never walked again without a limp. In certain lights, the pads of flesh that were sewn together by plastic surgeons in his face show their seams.

If you'd like to read an interesting blog by a woman who worked on the American Film Institute production of "Miss Lonelyhearts" that starred Eric Roberts, I've put the link below. In the middle of production, Roberts disappeared and nobody knew where he had gone. It turned out that he had impulsively flown back to CT to visit Sandy Dennis and wrapped his Jeep and body around a tree.

I made a typo in r50. Jeep accident, not motorcycle. Sorry!

Gosh, he was pretty.

Very pretty. Here he is in half of his sailor costume for "Raggedy Man." It's not a bad little movie.

Yes, very hot. And those pants he wore in the Pope of Greenwich Village were practically painted on. Gosh, did I want him.

As for acting, he's very, very good. He was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his performance in Runaway Train. A very good film.

Wow, I find him sexy right now but before the accident he was BEAUTIFUL. Odd that I should think that though, since he did look a hell of a lot like Julia back then and I've never found *her* particularly attractive.

I can only concur that he was both gorgeous and far more talented than his sister.

Too bad he was a such a drug-addled mess that he sank his own career.

R57, did he autograph that photo for his sister? It reads:

[Quote]Jules, Thanks. E. Roberts.

It's also dated 1-8-79, when Julia (b. October 28, 1967) would've been 3 months into her 11th year.

r36, Masden is a horrible alcoholic. I'm talking pancreas exploding, likely to die in the street horrible.

It's why he can't work on mainstream films; he's too fucked up and he can't get insured.

I thought Roberts was the only actor in the Dark Knight who got the pitch right; comic book character, but not over the top.

He's in "Inherent Vice", I believe. I guess he just bounces around until someone with talent or clout thinks of something he'd be good at.

fat mongrel bitch

He used to be hot and now he's old. Funny how that is always the case

R4, I’m thinking Michael Lembeck. He just quietly grinds away, and builds his diverse portfolio of work.

He's not that attractive

Eric is sort of brilliant in the very affecting "It's My Party" aka The Randal Kleiser story.

I see him walking with (and without) his wife on the border of New Canaan and Wilton CT, usually on a Sunday. Always smiles and nods hello.

He doesn't get the big roles and huge checks. Think of all the actors who want to work more, but don't get roles. Why not work if you can?

Ive always liked him and I bet hes just glad to keep working regardless if it isnt exactly oscar material.

And what about Morgan Freeman Jr who plays every goddamned role written for an older black man ? Enough already. Retire !

Wait a second, R49, Robin Leach has a wife? Out of all the famous men that are "outed" on here, are you telling me that Robin Leach is straight? I always felt he was like Richard Simmons, in that everyone knew he was gay but just didn't say anything. I know some will say he's not gay he is British, but I watch alot of British TV and I don't think most of them are gay. However, if there was ever a man that "pinged" to me it was Robin fucking Leach. I know, I'm only a bi guy, but is my gaydar that out of sync?

He's positively electric as Paul Snider in "Star 80." It's the tougher of the two roles because Mariel Hemingway had plenty of footage of Dorothy Stratten to pattern her performance after, whereas he certainly had to rely on secondhand accounts. You can see why Stratten would've been attracted to Snider at his sleazy-hot best and burdened by him at his pathetically broken worst. Julia could never deliver a turn like it, one that should've been star-making.

This just brings me to how the FUCK did Julia ever become a star? She’s notoriously lacking in personal hygiene, she’s ugly, she cannot act ... she could eat an apple through a wire fence, and whisper in her own ear - she has a head on her like a dropped pie. I watched her recently in Steel Magnolias - her acting was absolutely atrocious. I don’t understand how a filthy skank who made her name playing a hooker ever became America's sweetheart.

Mystic Pizza helped Julia. The big hair, the smile, there was an opening for a female romantic comedy lead. I think it was timing that worked for her.

Eric is by far the better actor but he never had that critical moment where the stars aligned for him like they did for Julia. Star 80 was such an intense performance and he came across as intense, whereas Julia was less threatening. Like Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine, I forget they are siblings because they are so different.

He also appeared on Broadway in "Burn This" with Joan Allen. Eric gave Julia her start in a little film in which they co-starred called "Blood Red." I have always loved him.

And as for workaholic actors, remember to list Stacey Keach.

[quote]Eric is sort of brilliant in the very affecting "It's My Party" aka The Randal Kleiser story.

It really is a weird, funny and compelling film, isn't it? Eric Roberts is the whole film, he's excellent in it.

He used to say how lousy "Another World" was but he learned that when you get older, nothing is really lousy if it means a paycheck.

I really hope he'll be in The Human Centipede part IV.

First time I saw him was as Paul in Willa Cather's Paul's Case. I think it was a tv production - likely PBS. Hard to believe it's the same person.

[quote]First time I saw him was as Paul in Willa Cather's Paul's Case. I think it was a tv production - likely PBS. Hard to believe it's the same person.

Unreal. He looks completely different. In that pic I can see Emma Roberts' resemblance to him.

Eric is rumored to be horse-hung.

Is there verificatia?

He looks more Chalamet than Roberts in r80.

Dee Wallace is another that pops up in almost everything. But I could watch her for days.

Hey, a gurl’s gotta eat

I remember back in the VHS days, I purchased for a video store and it seemed that there was another movie with Eric Roberts every month. Most of his movies were "B" to "C" and at the time anything that had some action or martial arts was a big renter.

[quote]Hey, a gurl’s gotta eat

But must it always be the poor scenery Eric?

He's fantastic in "Star 80." Such a good, but disturbing film, that goes under the radar. (But Ebert gave it 4 stars!)