The Dark Reason Why Julia Roberts and Her Brother Eric Didn’t Talk To Each Other For Years

Julia Roberts is a massive Hollywood star, but have you heard of her actor brother Eric? He’s had his time in the sun too, though for several decades a huge rift existed between the siblings. And if you’re thinking it would take something pretty bleak to come between brother and sister, you’d be right. It’s actually one hell of a tale and is fit for the movies. 

If you even have a passing interest in film, you’ll have heard of Julia Roberts. Her work in movies such as Pretty Woman and the award-winning Erin Brockovich is legendary. Though she also has a couple of close relatives in the movie industry.

One of these family members is Julia’s older brother Eric Roberts, who isn’t quite the household name she is. Yet despite lacking his sister’s impressive Hollywood credentials, he still has a filmography a mile long. Then there’s Eric’s daughter Emma, who has made quite a name for herself in film and TV, too. 

Life seemingly imitates art when it comes to Julia’s relationship with Eric, and we’re not talking about one of the former’s classic rom-coms! No, their history is more like a serious drama ‒ full of ups and downs. The reason for this apparently dates back to Eric’s personal struggles.

Once upon a time, Eric and and his sister were virtually joined at the hip. Though his downward spiral caused a rift in the family that almost destroyed his relationship with Julia. But what could have been so bad that it threatened such a close bond? 

It helps to know a bit more about Eric before we delve into the more difficult part of his life. He’s actually been in the business for a long time. Eric’s breakthrough role came in 1976 after being cast as Ted Bancroft in the soap Another World. And since then, he’s been all over the schedule. 

Eric’s done everything from voice acting to starring in TV movies and films, so you’ve probably seen him somewhere. Younger viewers might recognize him as Maroni from 2008’s The Dark Knight. He was also Jimmy ‘The Butcher’ Figgis in hit comedy TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. That doesn’t even scratch the surface, though. 

During his tenure in Hollywood, Eric’s won 36 awards and been nominated for a further 21. They include an Oscar for the movie Runaway Train and three Golden Globe nominations. And he was doing movies long before his superstar sister became famous. 

Eric was already working in Hollywood when his younger sibling Julia finished high school in Georgia. At that point, the latter had felt that there weren’t a lot of career options in the state, as she told The New York Times in 1990. So, she went down the same road as her older brother.

Julia revealed, “I had convinced myself that I had three choices: I could get married, I could go to college, or I could move to New York. Nobody was asking to get married and I didn’t want to go away to school, so I moved.” And thanks to her brother, Julia apparently already had connections. 

Julia first debuted in a drama series called Crime Story in 1987. She also had a part ‒ albeit uncredited ‒ in a movie called Firehouse later that year. Julia’s breakthrough role then came in 1988 with the bizarrely named Mystic Pizza. And Eric says that he was responsible for that!

Eric actually takes credit for getting both Julia and his daughter Emma into movies. He said as much in a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair, claiming, “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.” 

How did that come about, then? Well, Eric alleged, “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.” 

As for Emma, she spent a lot of time around her famous aunt Julia on set. In fact, that’s reportedly how she became passionate about movies. The actress scored her first film role in the 2001 film Blow at just nine years old. But it was a TV series that really cemented Emma’s career. 

Nickelodeon cast the young actress as Addie Singer, who was center stage in its series Unfabulous. The part kick-started Emma’s rise to stardom and she received several award nominations for it. The young actor’s future roles would be significantly different in tone, though. Emma’s actually most famous for her roles in a number of horror shows.

Fans will have likely seen Emma in a number of ghoulish TV series in recent years. The youngster played Chanel Oberlin in Scream Queens and several characters in the more recent anthology American Horror Story. So, clearly Emma has enjoyed a successful career in the acting business alongside Julia and Eric. Sadly, though, the relationship between her father and auntie has been less fruitful.

Eric told Vanity Fair that his estrangement to Julia started when they were younger. Their parents had a “very emotional, very loud” relationship which ended in a divorce when Eric was 15. Julia and her sister went to Georgia with their mother, while Eric ended up in Atlanta with his father. 

The split must have been hard on the young boy, and to make things more difficult, he also had a speech impediment. Eric described having “horrible stuttering. Not just once or twice but every time I opened my mouth. For years, the whole class found it amusing... They would laugh, and it killed me.”

Yet those familiar with Eric’s work won’t pick up a hint of his stutter, so what happened to it? Apparently, he discovered that learning lines prevented his speech impediment. So, Eric delved into acting and spent some time as the self-proclaimed “world’s worst soap actor” before getting his big break. 

Eric’s troubled past wasn’t the only obstacle he faced in his younger years, though. In 1981 his wild lifestyle resulted in a serious car accident which almost ended his career. The actor told Vanity Fair, “I was in a coma. My speech was very retarded. I had to learn how to walk again and talk again. It was really hard.”

But nothing could keep Eric away from the cameras and stage. He soon clawed his way back to health and began working again. In the years that followed, he made a life with the actress Kelly Cunningham, and they would go on to welcome their child Emma Roberts in 1991. 

Unfortunately, having a child didn’t keep Eric and Kelly together, and they split up while Emma was still a baby. The issue that caused a wedge between them was actually something Eric had struggled with for much of his life. You see, the actor had a problem with substance abuse.

First, there was Eric’s reliance on marijuana. The actor confessed to Vanity Fair that he was high for some of the most monumental moments of his early career. Eric admitted, “I would go to meetings with people that mattered – like Oliver Stone and Sean Penn – and I would go stoned.” As you can imagine, there were repercussions. 

Eric continued, “Woody Allen. I met him very stoned, and he dismissed me, as well he should have. I did that for about ten years. The whole point being I was asking for help, saying, ‘You see where I’m at ‒ now help me, because I’m worth helping.’ I get it now. I just didn’t get it when I should have.”

Though things later got worse for Eric. Hollywood was experiencing something of a cocaine boom at the time, and the actor got hooked on it. Eric alleged, “You’d arrive [on the set] in the morning, and they’d send you to the prop truck, where there’d be bowls of cocaine.” 

Eric said it wasn’t just actors taking the drug, either. During his interview with Vanity Fair, he claimed, “Everybody from executives to craft service was doing cocaine. I was doing it to the point where my wife said, ‘It’s me or the coke.’ I did all the psychotropics.” 

“I got myself arrested [in 1987 for possession of pot and cocaine and resisting arrest],” Eric elaborated. That isn’t even the worst thing that happened as a result of his addictions, either. Remember the car accident Eric had? That was due to cocaine, too. The actor was apparently high when he crashed. 

After his arrest, Eric steered away from cocaine. He said, “I went back to pot. I’ve been a pothead all my life, with several sober breaks I refer to as binge sobriety.” The substance abuse was at the heart of Eric’s split with Rebecca, and a legal battle for the custody of Emma ensued. 

Eric’s personal relationships were already frayed, but they got worse during the court case. Julia surprised many by choosing to lend financial aid to Rebecca against her own brother. But looking back, Eric completely understands her decision. His addiction had apparently put strain on the family long before that. 

Eric spoke openly about his family history with Vanity Fair. He said, “I wouldn’t characterize it as a falling-out. I was crazy about my sisters. Loved them, adored them. They were precious to me, and we had times of great closeness.” Sadly, they couldn’t help Eric with his addiction, though.

The actor continued, “We all felt very protective of each other. But the hardest person to protect yourself from is yourself. I was exhausting to be around. Complainy, blamey, unable to enjoy enjoyment. Everyone in my world needed a break sometimes, and that must have included Julia.” 

These days, however, Eric is turning his life around. The actor’s career is as strong as ever and his personal relationships seem to be healthy again. And in recent years, he’s even become close to both Julia and Emma once more. 

The relationship between the siblings first showed signs of healing back in 2004, according to E! Online. That year, Julia and her husband Danny Moder welcomed twins into the world. While Eric’s sister was still in hospital, he and his wife Eliza stopped by to deliver gifts for the family. 

Julia and Danny didn’t leave their relations out in the cold, though. Eric said, “Instead, I was ushered into their room and was immediately awash in brotherly and uncle-ly love.” Things have apparently been much better between the siblings ever since. As for Emma, Eric was full of praise for his daughter during an interview with Us Weekly in 2021.

Asked whether he was proud of his daughter’s acting achievements, Eric responded, “Of course I am. [Emma has a] quiet dignity about the whole [fame] situation. It’s just nice to watch her be a grown up.” He remarked how in their business you “have to find real maturity and real dignity. And she has both, I’m very proud of that.” 

Eric also revealed how the family resemblance between Emma and Julia amazes him – especially when they’re together. The actor explained, “They look so much alike. I look at pictures of them when they’re side-by-side and they’re both such Roberts, you know? It’s truly cool to look at them, I love seeing them together.” 

Also, it seems that Eric is experiencing another boom in his career right now, and he’s taking it in his stride. He told Us Weekly that it’s just how the business goes. Eric stated, “I’ve had three comebacks in my career already. It comes and goes, it ebbs and flows.” 

That said, you wouldn’t think there had been any ebbs in Eric’s career if you look at his film credits! According to Screen Rant, between himself, Julia and Emma they have 604 acting credits, 497 of which can be attributed to Eric. That’s an astonishing amount, although it’s arguable that not all of his roles are held in high regard. 

So what drives Eric? Well, he told Vanity Fair, “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’ve] made like 30 films in two, three years. Now, in the past two years, I’ve made around 70 movies.”

The actor continued, “I started having fun at the craft. I’m a ******* groupie for it! I can do it every day, all day. And so suddenly it’s like 250 movies. And I realize, I went from being a joke that’ll do anything to being, ‘Is there anything he can’t do?’”