Eric Roberts is discussing his tumultuous relationship with his sister Julia Roberts.

Eric, 61, claims his battle with drug addiction caused a divide in his family and led to a lengthy estrangement from Julia in a new interview with Vanity Fair.

Now that he’s thought about it, Eric tells the magazine, “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. We all felt very protective of each other, but the hardest person to protect yourself from is yourself .” Eric claims that his long-term drug addiction had a negative impact on his younger sister. “I was exhausting to be around: complainy, blamey, unable to enjoy enjoyment,” recalls the actor. “Everyone in my world needed a break sometimes, and that must have included Julia.”

Kelly was reportedly assisted by Julia Roberts to cover the costs of her 1993 custody battle with Eric.

When Julia gave birth to twins Hazel and Phinnaeus in 2004, the siblings had yet to truly make up, but when Eric and his wife Eliza came by the hospital to “drop off gifts” for the infants, they were greeted with enormous hugs.

He told Vanity Fair, “I was ushered into their room and was immediately awash in brotherly and uncle-ly love.” The siblings have subsequently spent numerous holidays together.

Eric, who has 487 film and television credits to his name, including 74 parts in 2017 alone, openly takes credit for Julia and Emma’s 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,” he boasts. “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.”

Julia went on to become America’s Sweetheart and an Academy Award winner, while Eric “started making a bunch of B movies.” He isn’t resentful though. “I started having fun at the craft. I’m a f–king groupie for it! I can do it every day, all day. But then everybody started making fun of me, and I turned to Eliza with the question ‘Why?'” Eric explains. “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?'”

Background:

Julia Roberts is a highly successful and well-known actress who has been a prominent figure in Hollywood for over 30 years. She is known for her talent, her beauty, and her charming on-screen presence, and she has won numerous awards for her work in film and television.

Roberts was born on October 28, 1967, in Smyrna, Georgia. She is the third of four children born to Betty Lou Bredemus and Walter Grady Roberts. Her father was a vacuum cleaner salesmanperson, and her mother was a church secretary. She grew up in a middle-class family and attended Griffin Middle School and Campbell High School.

After high school, Roberts attended Georgia State University, where she studied journalism. However, she dropped out after one semester to pursue a career in acting. She moved to New York City and began auditioning for roles, and she quickly landed her first professional acting job in the television series “Crime Story.”

Roberts’s career took off in the early 1990s, when she starred in a string of successful films, including “Steel Magnolias” (1989), “Pretty Woman” (1990), and “Sleeping with the Enemy” (1991). She received widespread recognition and critical acclaim for her performances in these films, and she became one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood.

In addition to her acting career, Roberts is also known for her family and personal life. She has been married three times: to country singer Lyle Lovett from 1993 to 1995, to cameraman Daniel Moder from 2002 to present, and to producer and director Benjamin Bratt from 2002 to 2004. She has three children: twins Hazel Patricia and Phinnaeus “Finn” Walter, and Henry Daniel Moder.

Roberts’s family also includes her siblings, actors Eric Roberts and Lisa Roberts Gillan, and her half-sister, Nancy Motes. She is known for her close relationship with her siblings, although she and Eric Roberts had a brief estrangement.

He and Julia Roberts grew up together and they have been close for the most part. They supported each other throughout their careers and appeared together in a number of films and television shows, including “Blood Red” (1989) and “Runaway Train” (1985).

However, their relationship has not always been smooth. In the early 1990s, Eric Roberts struggled with drug addiction, and his drug use strained his relationship with Julia. They did not speak to each other for several years, and their estrangement was widely reported in the media.

In a 2017 interview with People magazine, Eric Roberts discussed his struggles with addiction and said that his drug use had caused a rift between him and Julia. He also said that he regretted the estrangement and that he hoped to repair their relationship in the future.

Roberts has also been involved in a number of controversies and scandals throughout her career. In the early 1990s, she was involved in a highly publicized and tumultuous relationship with actor Kiefer Sutherland, which ended in a restraining order. She was also accused of being unprofessional and difficult to work with on the set of “The Pelican Brief” (1993), although she later apologized for her behavior.