Eric Roberts Biography

Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies (1978), earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatization of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case. He earned both a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in Runaway Train (1985). Through the 1990s and 2000s he maintained dramatic film and TV-movie roles while appearing in TV series. His TV work includes three seasons with the sitcom Less than Perfect and a recurring role on the NBC drama Heroes. His sisters Julia Roberts and Lisa Roberts Gillan, and daughter Emma Roberts, are also actors.

Early life

Roberts was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. His parents, Betty Lou (née Bredemus) and Walter Grady Roberts, one-time actors and playwrights, met while performing theatrical productions for the armed forces. They later co-founded the Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia off of Juniper Street in Midtown. Roberts' mother filed for divorce in 1971 and it was finalized early in 1972. His younger siblings, Julia Roberts (from whom he was estranged until 2004) and Lisa Roberts Gillan, are also actors. His mother married Michael Motes and had daughter Nancy Motes in 1976. Roberts is of English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, German, and Swedish descent. He was raised in Atlanta and attended Grady High School.

Career

Eric got his start on the now-defunct NBC daytime soap opera Another World originating the role of Ted Bancroft from February 14, 1977, to June 17, 1977.

Roberts received Golden Globe nominations for his early starring roles in King of the Gypsies (1978) and Star 80 (1983). 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; the award went to Don Ameche in Cocoon. In 1987, he won the Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut performance in Burn This.

Roberts's other starring roles included Raggedy Man (1981), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), The Coca-Cola Kid (1985), Nobody's Fool (1986), Best of the Best (1989), By the Sword (1991), Best of the Best 2 (1993), The Immortals (1995), La Cucaracha (1998), Purgatory (1999), and Stiletto Dance (2001). He also had major supporting roles in the films Final Analysis (1992), The Specialist (1994), and Shannon's Rainbow (2009). He played the Archangel Michael in The Prophecy II (1997).

In 1996, he appeared in the Doctor Who Television film in the role of the fourth Master. As of 2011, he is the only American actor to play the role. When SFX listed previous Masters in Doctor Who, the magazine said of Roberts: "Out-acted by a CGI snake in the same production." In a darkly comic touch, the onscreen wife of Roberts' human character, who is killed by her newly possessed husband (who is taken over by the Master in the form of the above-mentioned CGI snake), is played by his real-life wife.

His recent projects include A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, DOA: Dead or Alive and Royal Kill. He appeared in The Dark Knight as Sal Maroni, a Gotham City Mafia boss who hires The Joker to kill the titular superhero and a renegade mob accountant.

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 early January 2007, Roberts starred in the two-part mini-series Pandemic as the mayor of Los Angeles.

Roberts voiced the Superman villain Mongul in the animated series Justice League, and reprised his role in Justice League Unlimited in the episode "For the Man Who Has Everything". He performed the voice of Dark Danny in Nickelodeon's Danny Phantom. He appeared in the first season of Heroes as Thompson, an associate of Mr. Bennet. He then reprised the role in the third-season episode "Villains" and in the fourth-season "The Wall".

Roberts appeared in The Killers music video for their song "Mr. Brightside" and "Miss Atomic Bomb" 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. 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.

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 to Joshua Tree National Park to trip as they contemplate Vince's next movie decision. 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. In 2010, he appeared in the action film The Expendables. Later that year, he appeared alongside Steve Austin and Gary Daniels, his co-stars from The Expendables, in the 2010 action film Hunt to Kill. December 2010 saw the premiere of the fourth season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which documented Roberts' struggle with dependency on medical marijuana. Roberts starred in the 2012 mystery thriller Deadline, playing the role of politically incorrect reporter Ronnie Bullock.

Personal life

Roberts' daughter Emma Roberts, with his then-girlfriend Kelly Cunningham, was born on February 10, 1991. Emma eventually became an actress as well, making her film debut at age 9 in the 2001 drama Blow. After Roberts' relationship with Cunningham, he married Eliza Garrett in 1992. His stepson, Keaton Simons, is a singer-songwriter, and his stepdaughter, Morgan Simons, is a chef.

On January 12, 2001, Roberts visited The Howard Stern Radio Show with his wife during a segment called "The Gossip Game" with Mike Walker of the National Enquirer. He confirmed that he and his sister Julia Roberts 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, Emma. In 2004, he told People magazine that he and his sister were reconciled when he visited her in the hospital after she gave birth to twins.

Roberts is a vegan and supporter of animal rights.

Arrests and drug problems

In 1987, Roberts was arrested for possession of cocaine and marijuana and resisting arrest after he tried to assault a New York police officer. He spent 36 hours in jail, pleaded guilty to harassment, and had all other charges dropped.

In February 1995, Roberts was arrested for shoving his wife, Eliza Garrett, into a wall. He subsequently announced that he was giving up drug use entirely.

In 2010, Roberts appeared as a cast member in the fourth season of the Vh1 reality television series Celebrity Rehab, for a dependency on medical marijuana. His wife, Eliza, and his stepson, Keaton Simons, appeared in Episode 6 to discuss the effects of his addiction on their lives.

In popular culture

Roberts was 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 Osmond and Marie Osmond.

In the South Park episode "Cartman's Mom Is Still A Dirty Slut", a fictional version of Roberts is cast in an America's Most Wanted re-enactment of a shooting as "The Little Monkey Guy That Follows Mephesto Around".

He was also mentioned by Pearl Forrester and Leonard Maltin in Mystery Science Theater 3000 " in the Gorgo episode (episode 9, season 9) " as the perfect companion to Mickey Rourke for producing the "worst movie ever made."

He also received a passing reference in an episode of Justified (episode 12, season 4) when Art Mullens, Raylan's boss, says he doesn't like Julia Roberts because, "She looks too much like Eric."

Selected filmography

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1978	King of the Gypsies	Dave	Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Acting Debut " Male
1980	Paul's Case	Paul
1981	Raggedy Man	Teddy
1983	Star 80	Paul Snider	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1983	Miss Lonelyhearts	Miss Lonelyhearts	Television film
1984	The Pope of Greenwich Village	Paulie
1985	'	Becker
1985	Runaway Train	Buck	Nominated: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1986	Slow Burn	Jacob Asch	Television film
1986	Nobody's Fool	Riley
1988	To Heal a Nation	Jan Scruggs	Television film
1989	Best of the Best	Alex Grady
1989	Blood Red	Marco Collogero	Filmed in 1986, but released only three years later. Noteworthy for featuring Julia Roberts (Eric's sister) in her film debut.
1989	Rude Awakening	Fred
1990	'	Josh Baker
1990	The Lost Capone	Al Capone	Television film
1990	Descending Angel	Michael Rossi	Television film
1991	Vendetta: Secrets of a Mafia Bride	Sean McLeary	Television film
1991	Lonely Hearts	Frank
1991	By the Sword	Alexander Villard
1992	Fugitive Among Us	Cal Harper	Television film
1992	Final Analysis	Jimmy Evans
1993	Best of the Best 2	Alex Grady
1993	Love Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage	Joe Bonanno Jr.	Television film
1993	Voyage	Gil Freeland	Television film
1993	Love, Cheat & Steal	Reno Adams
1994	Babyfever	Anthony
1994	Freefall	Grant Orion
1994	Love Is a Gun	Jack Hart
1994	Sensation	Dr. Ian Burton
1994	'	Tomas Leon
1994	The Hard Truth	Dr. Chandler Etheridge
1995	'	Adrian
1995	'	Jack
1995	Saved by the Light	Dannion Brinkley	Television film
1996	Power 98	Karlin Pickett
1996	'	Cass
1996	It's My Party	Nick Stark
1996	Doctor Who	The Master/Bruce	Television film
1996	Heaven's Prisoners	Bubba Rocque
1996	'	Himself
1996	Dark Angel	Walter D'Arcangelo	Television film
1996	American Strays	Martin
1996	The Glass Cage	Montrachet
1996	Past Perfect	Dylan Cooper
1996	'	Steven	Television episode "Drew's Other Man"
1996	In Cold Blood	Perry Smith	Television miniseries Nominated: Satellite Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film
1996	Public Enemies	Arthur Danlop	Television film
1997	Frasier	Chet	Television episode, voice role "Roz's Krantz & Gouldenstein Are Dead"
1997	'	Eurymachus	Television miniseries
1997	Most Wanted	Assistant Deputy Director Spencer
1997	Oz	Richard L'Italien	Television episode "Capital P"
1997	T.N.T.	Russo
1997"98	C-16: FBI	John Olansky	Television series (13 episodes)
1998	'	Michael
1998	'	Bob Wilson
1998	False Pretense	Henry Smolensky	also known as Dead End
1998	'	Walter Pool
1999	Purgatory	Blackjack Britton	Television film
1999	BitterSweet	Mr. Venti
1999	Lansky	Ben Siegel (age 40)	Television film
1999	Touched by an Angel	Nick Stratton	Television episode "Made in the U.S.A"
1999	Restraining Order	Robert Woodfield
1999	Wildflowers	Jacob
1999	Spawn	Petey	Television episode; voice role "The Mindkiller"
1999	Façade	Colin Wentworth
1999	Two Shades of Blue	Calvin Stasi
1999	Heaven's Fire	Dean McConnell	Television film
1999	Hitman's Run	Tony Lazorka/John Dugan
1999	'	Jean	Television episode "The Dream Sentinel"
2000	The Beatnicks	Mack Drake
2000	Sanctimony	Lieutenant	Television film
2000	No Alibi	Victor Haddock/Stanley Joiner
2000	Luck of the Draw	Carlo
2000	The Alternate	The Replacement
2000	Falcone	Raymond 'The Madman' Ricci	Television series (4 episodes)
2000	Cecil B. Demented	Honey's Ex
2000	Tripfall	Mr. Eddie
2000	Race Against Time	James Gabriel	Television film
2000	The King's Guard	Augustus Talbert
2000	Mercy Streets	Rome
2001	Strange Frequency	Bob Henry
2001	'	Strohmeyer	Television episode "Paint Misbehavin"
2001	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Sam Winfield	Television episode "Victims"
2001	Mindstorm	David Mendez
2001	Stiletto Dance	Kit Adrian	Television film
2001	Fast Sofa	Robinson
2001	Walking Shadow	Police Chief DeSpain	Television film
2001	Frozen in Fear	Sean	Television film
2001	Raptor	Sheriff Jim Tanner
2001	Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534	First Officer Mike Hogan	Television film
2001	Con Games	Officer Hopkins
2002	Endangered Species	Police Lt. Mike 'Sully' Sullivan
2002	Roughing It	The Foreman	Television film
2002	Wrong Number	Josh Grey
2002	Spun	The Man
2002	Breakaway	Jimmy Scalzetti
2002	Wolves of Wall Street	Dyson Keller
2002"05	Less than Perfect	Will Butler	Television (59 episodes) Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy
2002	Justice League and Justice League Unlimited	Mongul (voice)	Television (3 episodes)
2003	Intoxicating	Teddy
2003	National Security	Nash
2003	The Long Ride Home	Sheriff Hank Bowman
2003	L.A. Confidential	Pierce Patchett	TV pilot
2004	Killer Weekend	Jack Talbot
2004	Miss Cast Away	Maximus Powers
2004	Six: The Mark Unleashed	Dallas
2004	Border Blues	Coyote Larry
2005	Final Approach	Coach Davis
2005	Confessions of an Action Star	Police Chief	also known as Sledge: The Untold Story
2005	Break a Leg	Michael Richard Lange
2005	Graves End	Tarkington Alexander Graves
2005	Danny Phantom	Dark Danny (voice)
2005	CSI: Miami	Ken Kramer	Television episode "Whacked"
2005	'	Arlis
2006	8 of Diamonds	Charlie Klamanski
2006	Phat Girlz	Robert Myer
2006	'	Older Antonio
2006	Hollywood Dreams	Thomas Kurt
2006	One Way	Nick Swell
2006	DOA: Dead or Alive	Donovan
2006"07	'	Gabriel McCutcheon	Television (3 episodes)
2006	Fatal Desire	Joe	Television film
2006	Aurora	Mr. Brown
2007	Pandemic	Mayor Dalesandro	Television film
2007	Heroes	Agent Thompson	Television (8 episodes)
2008	Light Years Away	Dr. Howard Melvin
2008	Witless Protection	Wilford Duvall
2008	Fear Itself	Harry Siegal/Harry Bender	Television episode "Spooked"
2008	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Roy Hubert	Television episode "Betrayed"
2008	Dark Honeymoon	L.A. Guy
2008	'	Sal Maroni
2008	Depth Charge	Commander Krieg	Television film
2008	'	Ray Crin	Television episode "Here Comes the Boom"
2008	Entourage	Himself	Television episode "Tree Trippers"
2008	Cyclops	Emperor Tiberius	Television film
2009	In the Blink of an Eye	Captain Jones
2009	'	Grant
2009	Rock Slyde	Jake the Deliveryman
2009	Royal Kill	Dad
2009	Shannon's Rainbow	Mitchell Prescott
2009	Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia	Vaslov
2009	The Whole Truth	Yaro Maroslav
2009	'	Merle Hench
2009	Project Solitude	John Sola
2009	Crash	Seth Blanchard	Television (13 episodes)
2010	Crimes of the Past	Robert Byrne
2010	Westbrick Murders	John
2010	'	James Munroe
2010	Sharktopus	Dr. Nathan Sands	Television film
2010	Enemies Among Us	Cobbs
2010	Chuck	Packard	Television episode "Chuck Versus the Couch Lock"
2010	Hunt to Kill	Lee Davis
2010	First Dog	President of the United States
2011	Silver Case	Senator
2011	Spreading Darkness	Stu Undercoffler
2011	Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior	Andy Armus	Television episode "The Time Is Now"
2011	Chillerama	General Bukkake	Segment "Wadzilla"
2011	Dante's Inferno Animated	Dante
2011	Lip Service	Mr. Esposito
2011-12	Vegan 101	Dr. Eaton Wright	Season 3
2012	Bloodwork
2012	Deadline	Ronnie Bullock
2012	The Whipping Club	Priest	Cinematic Book Trailer
2012	The Finder	Uncle Shad
2012	L'onore e il rispetto 3	Tom Di Maggio	Italian Television Series
2012	The Dead Want Women	Sonny Barnes
2012	Hansel and Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft	Mr. Sebastian (headmaster)
2012	Das Kind	Robert Stern
2013	Eternity: The Movie	Gene Weiner
2013	Lovelace	Nat Laurendi
2013	A Talking Cat!?!	Duffy the Cat
2013	Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End	Sheriff
2013	CSI	Brother Daniel Larson	S13 E22 "Skin in the Game" - S14 E01 "The Devil and D.B. Russell"
2013	The Hot Flashes	Lawrence Humphrey
2013	Before I Sleep	David
2013	The Cloth	Father Tollman
2014	The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)	Governor Hughes