Eric Anthony Roberts (born 18 April 1956, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA) played the Bruce 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 2006-2007 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 2013, he is the only American-born actor to play one of the major roles in the Doctor Who TV franchise. (Although raised in the US, John Barrowman is Scottish-born, and Juliet Landau has to date only portrayed Romana in audio dramas.)
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, a status he shares with John Hurt, Sophie Okonedo, Carey Mulligan and Oscar-winner Peter Capaldi.