Exclusive: Eric Roberts on The Rocket, upcoming movies, and working with Stallone and Steve Austin on "The Expendables"
With over 500 credits currently showing on his IMDb page, few actors have worked as much over the last 40-something years as Eric Roberts. The Golden Globe Award-nominated actor notably scored critical acclaim and commercial success from early roles in King Of The Gypsies, Star 80 and Runaway Train.
One of Eric Roberts' recent films is 2020's Inside The Rain, a wincingly funny rom-com drama hybrid that encapsulates the struggles and challenges faced by young people with bipolar illness. Based on his own life, writer, director and star Aaron Fisher delivers an authentic and insightful look at what it means to live with the disorder and how it impacts one’s future in the film, which also stars Rosie Perez.
Eric Roberts' extensive film and television credits include work in sports-related roles and acting alongside top athletes. Martial arts fans ought to remember his work in Best Of The Best and its sequel. Followers of MMA and professional wrestling should have loved his role in The Expendables, which he performed alongside Randy Couture, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, The Wrestler star Mickey Rourke and Rocky creator Sylvester Stallone.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Eric Roberts by phone on March 18, 2020, and it apparently went so well that I was given the chance to talk with him again on March 31, 2020. Within our second chat, Roberts opened up about The Rocket, working on The Expendables, successfully collaborating on a daily basis with wife Eliza, and how he's staying fit amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
The full chat is embedded below, while part of it has been transcribed exclusively for Sportskeeda. More on Eric Roberts can be found online at: www.twitter.com/EricRoberts and www.facebook.com/EricRobertsActor.
On working with Sylvester Stallone for The Expendables:
Eric Roberts: Making that movie was like boys' camp. Every morning we're all in the gym from 5 to 6 [A.M.] together, we're on set by 7, 7:30 [A.M.].
One morning we're in the gym and Sly Stallone is on the incline bench doing something like 400 pounds. At the time I think Sly was something like 65 years old, but he was ripped to shreds and he was doing a great deal of weight on his chest. Suddenly he screams and the weight hits the floor and he rolls off the bench and his whole chest goes black from internal bleeding. He popped one of his pecks off the bone of his chest. I don't know if medically that's what happened, but this is the impression that I get from looking at the damage. (laughs)
In the movie it was supposed to say "Expendables" on his chest with a bunch of the "Expendables" [characters'] names; I wasn't an "Expendable", I was the bad guy. But if you watch that movie, note that you never see Sly's chest without his shirt. You only see his back without his shirt and it says "Expendables" on his back because they had to change everything after he blew his chest out.
On whether he worked closely with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin while working on that film:
Eric Roberts: He became one of my best buddies on the planet. I love that man. I love his wife, too.
On his last words for the kids:
Eric Roberts: Everybody keep social distancing. Know that the more you keep it, the sooner it'll be over and we can all hold hands again.