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Eric Roberts Reflects on Career, Family, and Regrets in New Memoir ‘Runaway Train’

 Eric Roberts offers a public apology to his sister Julia Roberts



Actor Eric Roberts is opening up like never before in his new memoir, Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far. The 68-year-old Hollywood veteran takes readers through his turbulent journey—detailing his childhood in Georgia, the rollercoaster ride of his acting career, and his long, complicated relationship with his sister, Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts.

In a deeply personal revelation, Roberts offers a public apology to his younger sister Julia, now 56, with whom he has had a strained relationship for decades. Reflecting on past statements where he claimed her success was only possible because of him, he writes, “I hope Julia will accept this public apology. It was an asinine thing to have said.”

Roberts, who was recently announced as a contestant on the upcoming season of Dancing With The Stars, grew up in a troubled household. His parents, Walter Roberts and Betty Lou Bredemus, ran an acting school in Atlanta, Georgia, where they introduced their children to the world of theater. However, behind the scenes, the family struggled. Walter Roberts, plagued by alcoholism and abusive tendencies, created an unsafe environment for Eric, who eventually moved to live with his father after his parents’ divorce in 1971. His mother remarried Michael Motes, and Julia, along with their sister Lisa, lived with their mother’s new family in Smyrna, Georgia.

Eric’s life took a dramatic turn when he moved to New York at 17 to pursue acting, achieving early success in King of the Gypsies in 1978, and later starring in the critically acclaimed Runaway Train in 1985, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Yet despite his professional triumphs, Roberts’ personal life was marred by addiction.

By the mid-1980s, as his sister Julia began her rise to stardom, Eric was battling a cocaine addiction. Reflecting on that time, he admits that his struggles with drugs, coupled with a near-fatal car accident in 1981 that left him in a coma for three days, deeply impacted his memory and decision-making.


Roberts’ five-decade career spans over 700 credits, from blockbuster films to smaller indie projects. While he had highs, like his acclaimed role in The Pope of Greenwich Village, he also faced missed opportunities, including turning down the role of Jesus in Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ—a decision he now regrets.

Through it all, Roberts uses Runaway Train to reflect on his journey, both as an actor and as a man trying to reconcile with his past. He candidly shares his hopes that his memoir might help him mend the fractured relationship with Julia. “It’s time to let go of old grievances,” Roberts writes, hinting at a desire for reconciliation.

With his latest venture on Dancing With The Stars bringing him back into the spotlight, Eric Roberts seems ready to step into a new chapter, embracing both his past and his future.

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