Eric Roberts set to turn green for DWTS Movie Week
As he heads into Movie Week on Dancing With The Stars, Eric Roberts has admitted he has a lot on his plate between his job as a presenter on Ireland AM, a new baby boy, building a new house, and spending up to five hours a day in rehearsals.
This Sunday night sees the Donegal native turn green as he takes to the dancefloor with his professional dance partner Arianna Favarro to do a Samba to Cuban Pete from the Jim Carrey comedy The Mask.
Eric, who celebrated the arrival of new baby boy Ryan with this wife Niamh last year, first gained attention through his social media presence, where he has over a million followers.
Last year he published his debut children’s book, Gary the Stinky Goose, which was inspired by his years as a Special Needs Assistant (SNA) in Donegal, and by his nephew Oisín, who has cerebral palsy and autism.
“We’re building in Donegal at the moment and we’re renting down here in Dublin,” Eric says. “When the job came up with Ireland AM, I sort of had to commit because I was up and down like a yo-yo with work and brand deals and stuff.
“So I was doing quite a bit of travelling. But then when I had that structure, I knew I was going to be here every weekend regardless. We sort of took the leap and we made the move.
“It’s such a fun thing to sort of uproot your life. And it’s a new adventure. I’m adoring my time in Ireland AM as well.”
Eric says he was a fan of Dancing With the Stars before he signed up. “I watched it but I wasn’t in the industry so never thought I’d take part. So in the last couple of years, when I had gained a bit of notoriety, I thought, this could be a possibility.
“When they asked, I understood it was going to be a huge time commitment. But for me, if there was a show you’re going to do in Ireland as a celebrity or someone in the industry, this for me is right up my street. I consider myself to be a performer. I love social media and put myself out there.”
Speaking about his status as an early favourite to lift the DWTS glitterball trophy, he says. “Honestly, I’m not trying to look at it too much because you would send yourself loopy. I’m quite competitive and I’m quite hard on myself with these things.
“So obviously, when week one went amazing, I was delighted but I knew I wasn’t going to be as great in week two. You never know who’s going home and I want to be one of the best every week. That’s the mind frame that I’m in at the moment.
“It was terrifying standing there last week. I was going, oh, God, it could be me.”
And he is really looking forward to Movie Week. “I get to pretend to be Jim Carrey in The Mask. And I’m just having so much fun in rehearsals with it as well.
“Obviously, Movie Week is a brilliant one. I’m so, so looking forward to it, probably more excited than I was going into week two.
“And hopefully that shines through in the dance because I’m just such a fan of the movie and Jim Carrey and that comedic aspect. So I’m hoping to show a lot of personality again this weekend.”
Eric worked as an SNA for seven years before launching his media career and it is a part of his life he is still very proud of.
“I adored the job,” he says. “I worked with children as young as three, right up to adults. And obviously my nephew, Oisín, was a huge part of that and still a huge part of my content.
“Even though I’ve left that job four or five years ago, I still am a big advocate for disabilities. And the book was something that I had done while I was a special needs assistant. And I’m still very, very passionate about my work as an SNA and about raising awareness for disabilities.”
It’s only week three of the new season but all the contestants and their pro dancers have already formed a special bond.
“The camaraderie is absolutely through the roof,” Eric says. “We’re all such fans of each other. We’re all dipping in, peeking and looking at each other’s rehearsals and we have lunch together. And yeah, it’s a really fun group.”
Dancing With the Stars continues on RTÉ One on Sundays at 6.30pm