Eric Roberts apologises to Julia Roberts over claim he 'made her famous'

Eric Roberts has apologised to his sister Julia Roberts after claiming he "made her famous".

The actor declared his regrets in a new memoir, Runaway Train: Or the Story of My Life So Far.

Referring to his sister as "Julie", Eric, 68, was upfront about having previously claimed he gave Julia, 56, a professional boost.

"Now one of the things I'd like to apologize for in this book is for publicly saying on more than one occasion, 'If it wasn't for me, there would be no Julia Roberts,'" an extract from the book, obtained by Entertainment Weekly, read.

"That's not only unfortunate, but it's also untrue. And I hope Julie will accept this more public apology. It was an asinine thing to have said. I was proud of her, but it was pride turned on its head, to my own advantage."

However Eric - whose daughter is fellow actor Emma Roberts, 33 - went on to say he believed it was due to him that Julia chose to pursue acting, after she visited him in New York where he had forged a career in the entertainment industry.

"That's when, it seems to me, she saw my life as a young actor in New York, and saw what I was doing for my livelihood, and she wanted to try it," he claimed.