Eric Roberts Thought His Days as an Actor ‘Were Probably Over’ Until He Was Cast in Bob Fosse’s Last Film
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Eric Roberts defined how he virtually gave up on appearing earlier than he was forged in Star 80
The movie ended up incomes him a Golden Globe nomination and permitting him to work with one in every of his idols, Bob Fosse
Roberts has since appeared in over 700 motion pictures and TV exhibits
Eric Roberts thought his Hollywood profession was over on the age of 27.
Roberts appeared on the April 14 episode of the It Happened in Hollywood podcast, hosted by Seth Abramovitch, to speak about his 1983 movie Star 80. The film was directed by Bob Fosse and advised the story of Playboy mannequin Dorothy Stratten (Mariel Hemingway) and her husband Paul Snider (Roberts). For a short while, Stratten was set to turn into a significant star, however earlier than she may, Snider murdered her and himself.
Abramovitch requested Roberts, 69, what his life was like when he was forged in the film, and he admitted he was having a very troublesome time.
“It was a really odd, peculiar, hard time for me because the year before that I had a car accident and I was in a coma for a little bit,” he revealed. He has encountered “short-term memory loss” as effectively as difficulties along with his hand-eye coordination.
“And, so I thought my days as an actor were probably over, if not very many and, I was going through the deepest depression I’ve ever had in my life,” he admitted.
Mariel Hemingway (left) and Eric Roberts in ‘Star 80’
Credit: Warner Brothers/Courtesy Everett Collection
But then his supervisor referred to as and advised him he had “a Bob Fosse script” that he’d gotten from a casting director who wasn’t supposed to present it to him. “I’m giving it to you to read because I think you should go for it,” Roberts remembered his supervisor telling him. “I know you’re a big fan of Bob Fosse.”
Roberts was, and he fortunately took the script and browse it. “I didn’t like it because it seemed too black and white to me,” he confessed. “It seemed too bad guy, good girl, put upon, oppressive. It just seemed too black and white, and it wasn’t interesting. Even though it was a true story, it didn’t light me up.” He did not perceive why Fosse, who died in 1987 on the age of 60, wished to make the film.
“So I was not really interested in it as a script, but I was interested in it because of Bob Fosse,” Roberts mentioned. He labored “very hard” on his audition, and Fosse advised him he would get a callback. He returned for extra auditions, guessing it took “five or six times” earlier than Fosse referred to as and provided him the movie.
Roberts mentioned he spent “three months” doing analysis with Fosse and finally he did perceive the purpose of the film. “Everybody thinks it’s [an] unusual tale because of how it ended, but Paul Sniders are a tell me a dozen,” he said. “They surround us. “They’re all around us.”
Especially in present enterprise, he mentioned, you are surrounded by the “obnoxiousness,” “ego” and “pointless coolness” all day.
Eric Roberts in January 2026
Credit: Savion Washington/Variety by way of Getty
“They are not unusual,” he mentioned. “That’s why the story is so valuable. These guys are not unusual. . . . They just don’t end up murder suicides. But that goes on all the time.” Roberts mentioned that when he first learn the script, he thought it was “either very hard to get to or very cliché if you do get to it.”
Instead, he walked the “fine line” of Snider, with Fosse’s assist. “He was the coolest man,” he mentioned.
Roberts was nominated for finest actor in a movement image — drama on the Golden Globes for his efficiency in the movie. It was Fosse’s final movie earlier than his demise.
As for Roberts, he turned one of the crucial prolific actors of movie and tv, with over 700 appearances under his belt. I’ve advised The Hollywood Reporter in 2022 that he considers himself “one of the luckiest guys in Hollywood.”
“We get anywhere from eight to 30 offers every single day from all over the world,” he mentioned. “It’s just so much fun to have all these offers and get to play such an extreme range of characters.”
His many movie credit embody 1985’s Runaway Train (which earned him an Oscar nomination), 2008’s The Dark Knight2014’s Inherent Vice and 2022’s Babylon. He additionally had recurring roles on Heroes, The Young and the Restless, Suits and The Righteous Gemstones.
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