Exclusive Interview With Eric Roberts: Runaway Train To Star 80 to The Dark Knight, His Stories!

Exclusive Interview With Eric Roberts: Runaway Train To Star 80 to The Dark Knight, his stories! Plus his wife, Eliza Roberts, Brunella from Animal House!

Eric Roberts talks with me about how he prepared for the scary role of Paul Snider, Dorothy Stratten's boyfriend who murdered her, shooting Star 80 in the actual locations the murder took place and working with Mariel Hemingway. Eric also discusses how he embodied his role for The Pope of Greenwich Village and his ongoing friendship with Mickey Rourke.
Eliza talks about how she was cast as Brunella in Animal House, what it was like offset with the cast and what working with John Belushi was like. Eric also discusses whom he drew from in his past to create his role in Runaway Train and his favorite role which was on The Righteous Gemstones and the amazing Gotham City set from The Dark Knight. So much more from one of the greatest actors we have! Thank you Eric and Eliza!

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Hosted by John Cato, actor, voiceover artist, and moderator for over 20 years for the television and movie industry. John's background brings a unique insight and passion to the podcast.

00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:22 Eric talks about how he prepared for his intense portrayal of Dorothy Stratten's boyfriend in Star 80
00:04:39 Eric talks about shooting in the real locations where Dorothy Stratten's murder happened
00:07:11 Eric talks about working with his co-star, Mariel Hemingway
00:08:25 Star 80 goes into production a year and a half after the real murder of Dorothy Stratten
00:09:18 Eric chats about how he embodied his character in The Pope of Greenwich Village
00:11:40 Eric talks about how the original director of The Pope of Greenwich Village asked him to resign from the movie
00:13:51 Eric talks about the first time he met Mickey Rourke
00:16:32 Eric talks about how much he holds onto his role while shooting a film
00:17:37 Eric talks about his ongoing friendship with Mickey Rourke
00:18:28 Eliza talks about how she met Eric and how they started dating
00:24:48 Eric talks about how his scary portrayal of Paul Snider in Star 80 had women scared of him in real life for years
00:26:02 Eliza talks about how she was cast in Animal House
00:29:32 Eric talks about how he influenced the dead horse in the principal's office in Animal House
00:30:59 Eliza talks about John Belushi and the rest of the Animal House cast
00:32:36 Eliza's son, Keaton Simons played with Otis Day and the Knights
00:33:23 Frank Pearson, King of the Gypsies director knew Eliza and Eric before they met
00:34:08 Eliza and Eric debate how Eric should not have turned down the lead on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire
00:35:16 Eric talks about who he drew upon in real life to play his character in Runaway Train with Jon Voight
00:36:35 How Eric made an Unlikeable character in Runaway Train into a character the audience could feel sorry for
00:38:26 Emotional story about how Eric helped Danny Trego get started as an actor after being a real convict
00:42:07 How Rebecca DeMornay was overlooked during the shooting of Runaway Train
00:45:47 Robert Pattinson and Quentin Tarantino continue to show Runaway Train at festivals
00:47:47 Eric talks about Jon Voight
00:49:24 Eric talks about how the director of Runaway Train limited how many takes per scene and how he stopped doing stunts during Runaway Train
00:52:23 Eric and Eliza tells a story on how Eliza influenced John Travolta to take Pulp Fiction
00:54:45 Eliza tells a great story of how Bruce Willis was cast as the voice of the baby in the movie, Look Who's Talking
00:57:46 Eric talks about behind the scenes of the movie Love is a Gun
00:59:14 Eric chats about how he did an 8 minute monologue over the phone
01:00:18 Eric talks about the level of exhaustion he feels after a heavy day of acting
01:01:05 Eric talks about how much he loved doing Love is a Gun with Kelly Preston
01:04:40 Eric explains how acting is like an extension of who he is
01:07:24 Eric talks about his favorite role - The Righteous Gemstones
01:11:04 Eric talks about John Goodman
01:11:43 Eric talks about the incredible Gotham City set outside London for The Dark Knight
01:14:36 Eric and Eliza talk about traveling around the world shooting films
01:21:13 Eric and Eliza chat about their relationship with Julia Roberts and Emma Roberts
01:25:04 Eric talks about growing up with Martin Luther King and the King Family
01:27:35 Eric talks about the biography he is working on