Eric Roberts

Proclaimed by Interview magazine as having so handsome a profile "it could be struck on a Roman coin," actor Eric Roberts was best-known for two things: 1) being a great actor who was prone to making bad choices, and 2) being Julia Roberts' big brother. Blessed with a combination of a matinee idol's good looks and a thespian's acting ability, Roberts' talents were all too often squandered working in less-than-worthy material. When given a substantive script to play with, however, Roberts could occasionally be downright superb, infusing his performances with an intense charisma rarely seen on screen. Famed for his magnetic intensity, Roberts dazzled critics with his Oscar-nominated turn as Paul Snider, the obsessive and controlling beau of doomed Playboy playmate Dorothy Stratton (Mariel Hemingway) in director Bob Fosse's tragic biopic, "Star 80" (1983). Although Roberts seemed well on his way to becoming a major movie star during the 1980s, the actor ultimately found himself eclipsed in Hollywood by the rise of his younger sister - future Academy Award-winning "Pretty Woman" (1990) star, Julia Roberts.