Eric Roberts is always adding to his already impressive resume, and right now he not only has a new film out, but he’s spreading the word about a new business venture.
Eric’s friend Jon Hoffman is the inventor of The Phoenix, a new device that tackles the problem of erectile dysfunction. It’s like nothing else that exists in the field, and Eric told me not only about the project – but how he’s hoping it destigmatizes a common sexual health issue.
He’s also one of the stars of Inside the Rain, playing a key role opposite the film’s star, writer and director Aaron Fisher. We spoke about what interested Eric about the movie and got him involved. One thing’s for certain: whatever Eric is doing, whether it’s in film, TV or now in business, it’s always something unique.
Brittany Frederick: How did you originally become involved with The Phoenix? Why venture into this line of business?
Eric Roberts: A very good friend of mine [Jon Hoffman], he’s an inventor and he’d been working with my wife on her invention of a bicycle desk and they were working on that. He comes into me with his other invention that’s the cure for ED, and it’s called the Phoenix. It’s a very old process; it uses sound waves. That was always used in clinics, but it’s very expensive…But he has this invention called the Phoenix and well, you do it yourself. And it’s absolutely painless and it works.
I got involved because he’s my friend and I realized it’s an issue that you need to take the shame out of, because it doesn’t matter. Why sound waves work is you have ED for the same reason you have heart issues – the plaque in your bloodstream. It just clogs up the little vein so you don’t have that firm blood flow you had as a kid in the heart or the appendage. I’m involved to take the shame out of dealing with the fact that we have plaque in our system and it causes ED.
BF: At the same time, we’re seeing you in Inside the Rain. What was it about this movie or the people involved that you loved?
ER: We [Eric and his wife Eliza] liked the subject matter. We thought this is valuable. The part was easy, fun to do; it was a day’s work, nothing to it. It was not even a pursuing a role, really. It was pursuing a project because we liked the subject matter and we liked Aaron. Aaron is odd, and interesting and valuable. And so I wanted to hang out with Aaron and watch him make a movie. And [co-star] Rosie Perez was dynamite.
Read More: Aaron Fisher tells how he crafted Inside the Rain
BF: How would you compare the quirky producer you play here to the many fun characters you’ve played in the past?
ER: I was playing a movie producer, and I’ve known probably 25 of those guys like the guy I played. I just put them all under one guy. You don’t take yourself too seriously, but act like you do; that’s them. And so, it was a fun day’s work for me.
But I love the subject matter of the movie. Psychotropics and the whole world of the labeling of the psyche, and how it works and how to manipulate it, and how to control it through drugs. It’s just a valuable movie and Aaron’s very brave to have written, produced, directed and starred in it. I’m always impressed if anybody can do that because I have never even wanted to do that.
Inside the Rain is now streaming on Amazon Video. For more on The Phoenix, visit the company’s website.
TVBrittanyF.com 