Eric Roberts' long-awaited debut on 'DWTS' after 19 years wins over Internet with overflowing praise

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Eric Roberts is making up for the lost time.

As Roberts made his debut on 'Dancing With The Stars' during the season 33 premiere, he revealed that he had been offered a spot on the show 19 years ago, per Entertainment Weekly.

The ‘King of the Gypsies’ star, known for having more than 700 acting credits, made his debut on the show by dancing the cha-cha with professional dancer Britt Stewart. Their performance was choreographed to the classic hit 'Old Time Rock and Roll.'

Eric Roberts reveals he was offered 'DWTS' 19 years ago

On stage, Eric Roberts, 68, revealed that he was first offered a spot on the dance reality show during its inaugural season 19 years ago. Unfortunately, due to a scheduling conflict, he had to turn down the offer at that time.

However, Roberts embraced the saying "better late than never" as he finally joined the show, declaring with style, "I'm finally here.”

He continued in his opening remarks, "I've been making movies for 45 years, but I was asked to do Dancing With the Stars 19 years ago.”

“One day of filming a movie overlapped, and I was devastated by that because I'm such a huge fan of the show and I'm ready to make up for lost time,” explained Roberts. 

The actor, whose younger sister is Julia Roberts, later added, "I've been waiting 19 years for this moment, and I'm not going to mess it up... hopefully." Roberts performed the cha-cha with pro dancer Britt Stewart, dancing to 'Old Time Rock and Roll' by Bob Seger.

Although Roberts waited nearly two decades for this opportunity, the judges were not very enthusiastic about his performance. All three judges - Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough - gave him a score of five, making a total of 15 out of 30. 

While Hough compared the performance to "assembling IKEA furniture," noting that "some pieces fit really nice, and that's a bit of a puzzle,” Inaba cautioned, "I just want to warn you, my score might not be so great, but what I do want to say is that you are a star and it showed the whole time.”

Even the ‘Best of the Best’ actor described his experience as “petrifying” in his post-performance interview.

The actor also recently released his memoir 'Runaway Train' where he publicly apologized to his sister Julia Roberts.

Previously, discussing his book release and 'Dancing With The Stars' debut, Roberts wrote on X, “This morning’s announcement on Good Morning America about my participation in Season 33 is surreal. The crazy thing is I was supposed to join Season 1 but had to pull out due to a movie. My wife and I are huge fans of the show, so it’s incredibly exciting to finally be a part of it. Launching on the same day as my book, RUNAWAY TRAIN, makes it even more thrilling!”

Internet users praise Eric Roberts' enthusiastic 'DWTS' debut

The internet was flooded with praise for Eric Roberts as he finally appeared on 'Dancing With The Stars' after a 19-year wait. Many fans applauded his perseverance, while others expressed their excitement over his long-awaited participation.

One of the fans noted, "Nice! I don't watch the show, but I'll tune in to see you. You're one of the nicest people I've met. Good luck sir!"

"ERIC & BRITT you know what I love the fact that he has been waiting 19 years and didn't care still gave it everything he had on the live stage," praised someone else.

Another fan cheered, "DWTS let’s go Eric Roberts, still a heartthrob❤️."

Someone else exclaimed, "I literally cannot believe Eric Roberts is on DWTS???!!!"

Another fan noted of his participation, "Proud of eric roberts being disabled and still going on @officialdwts and trying it!! one of the main stars i’m watching the show for. 😊 #dwts."

"I love Eric Roberts' 'spirit.' At least he didn't quit halfway through, unlike some celebrities in the past," chimed in another.

Someone else gushed, "Such a fan of Eric Roberts. Love seeing him on #DWTS 🥰😭♥️."

Meanwhile, another fan noted, "Did the judges just say they brought of Eric Roberts to #DWTS bc of his story just to warn him they weren’t going to give him a good score?"

"Eric Roberts carried the dance with such style and strength!!! #dwts," said someone else.

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