Eric Roberts is stepping back into the spotlight in a brand new way, after being announced as one of the celebrities competing for the Mirrorball in the newest season of Dancing with the Stars.
The 68-year-old actor also recently released a new memoir titled Runaway Train: Or, the Story of My Life So Far, in which he expands upon some of the ups and downs in his life, including his struggles with addiction and his complicated relationship with his family.
His most well-documented dynamic of all, however, is most likely with his younger sister Julia Roberts. The 56-year-old actress achieved her own screen breakthrough nearly a decade after her brother became a leading man.
Read on to learn more about their complicated relationship, their decades-long estrangement, and the new additions to the family that eventually brought them back together…
Growing up in split households
In 1971, a then 15-year-old Eric saw his parents Walter Grady Roberts and Betty Lou Bredemus file for divorce and split the house apart. While Eric lived with his father, his younger sisters Julia and Lisa lived with their mom.
While the three siblings became distant after the separation, things escalated when Eric would state in interviews during the early years of his career that his mother was "dead," while Lisa and Julia were still in their pre-teen/early teen years.
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In his new book, Eric admitted that he was "angry" with his mother over the divorce, but regretted involving his sisters in the matter. "I'm only now beginning to realize the impact it must have had to Julie and Lisa, who were 11 and 13 years old, who were living with our mom but hearing their big brother… saying in public that their mom is dead."
"It was the great undoing of my relationship with my sisters. That I was unconcerned about them and focused only on my mom reading that I'd killed her off was such a selfish thing to have done."
Issues with substance abuse
During the '80s and '90s, Eric struggled with addiction issues, at one point being arrested in 1987 for criminal trespass and possession of cocaine and marijuana.
He told Vanity Fair in 2018 that those issues were what he believed to be the root cause of his estrangement from his sisters. "I wouldn't characterize it as a falling-out. I was crazy about my sisters."
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"We all felt very protective of each other, but the hardest person to protect yourself from is yourself," he added, admitting he was "exhausting to be around," and he was "complainy, blamey, unable to enjoy enjoyment. Everyone in my world needed a break sometimes, and that must have included Julia."
The births that changed everything
In that same VF interview, Eric revealed that the moment that changed everything between him and his famous sister was the birth of her twins Hazel and Phinnaeus in December 2004.
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He recalled at the time arriving at the hospital with wife Eliza bearing gifts, expecting to simply drop them off and leave. "Instead I was ushered into their room and was immediately awash in brotherly and uncle-ly love."
The Runaway Train actor stated that their relationship grew incredibly close after, which involved often spending family holidays together and exchanging emails. They remain close to this day, although keep their relationship private.
Taking credit and an apology
In that same interview, however, Eric claimed that he was responsible for his sister and daughter Emma Roberts' success. "If it wasn't for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and I'm very proud of that."
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"When Julia first came to New York, I went into William Morris and I said, 'Which one of you is going to sign my sister Julia?' And I am so proud that everybody knows I was first, because I was first by a long shot. I was first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, so I'm proud of that."
However, in his memoir, he apologized for saying so. "One of the things I'd like to apologize for in this book is for publicly saying on more than one occasion, 'If it wasn't for me, there would be no Julia Roberts.'"
"That's not only unfortunate, but it's also untrue," he added. "And I hope Julie will accept this more public apology. It was an asinine thing to have said."