Eric Roberts

Eric Anthony Roberts (b. 18th April 1956, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA) played the Master and Bruce in the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie. His other starring roles include Star 80 (1983), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), and Best of the Best (1989). During the 2006-07 TV season, he played a recurring villain in the NBC TV series, Heroes, sharing several scenes with fellow Who alumnus Christopher Eccleston and later reprising his role in a 2008 flashback episode. He also played Sal Maroni in The Dark Knight (2008).

In 2007 he participated in Doctor Who Confidential where he was interviewed about the Master. As of 2010 he is the only American-born actor to play one of the major roles in the Doctor Who franchise. (Although raised in the US, John Barrowman is Scottish-born.)

He is married to Eliza Roberts, who played Bruce's wife Miranda in the TV movie. He is the father of popular teen actress Emma Roberts and the older brother of actress Julia Roberts. He is also one of the few Oscar-nominated actors to appear in Doctor Who.