Eric Roberts has revealed that he’s not allowed to discuss his famous sister, Julia Roberts, publicly.
The actor, who has an Oscar nomination for the 1985 film Runaway Train and roles in The Dark Knight and The Expendables, has had a tumultuous relationship with the 56-year-old Pretty Woman star.
Their rocky relationship stems from his past struggles with addiction, which also contributed to his split from actress Kelly Cunningham.
Julia, once very close to her brother, funded Cunningham's legal fees in a custody battle over their daughter, Emma Roberts, now a successful actress.
Eric, who became estranged from Julia until 2004, shared on the podcast Still Here Hollywood: “I love my sister, but I can’t talk about her. She doesn’t want to talk about it.”
He also mentioned that his daughter has instructed him not to talk about her either. However, Eric couldn’t help but express his admiration for Emma’s acting career during the interview.
“I’m in love with my daughter’s work these days. I can’t believe how great she’s become. I’m so proud of her I can’t see straight,” he said, continuing to praise her work in the film Maybe I Do.
“She overwhelms me with pride and just, ‘Oh my God, here she goes again.’ And I’m just so happy to be her dad because she’s kicking ass.”
However, he acknowledged that he has contributed “absolutely nothing” to her success other than giving her the Roberts name.
Emma, 33, has said that her famous family has sometimes been a hindrance to her career and claimed that despite the obvious help her name has given her she’s not a “nepo-baby”.
She told Flaunt magazine, “I’ve lost more jobs than I’ve gained from being in the business. People have opinions and sometimes maybe they’re not good opinions of people in your family.
I’ve never gotten a job because of it, I know I definitely have lost a couple of jobs because of it.”
