In his memoir, Runaway Train: Or, The Story of My Life So Far, Eric Roberts shared personal stories he had never revealed before. One of the topics that recently made headlines was his comments about Julia Roberts‘ performance in the 1989 rom-com Steel Magnolias, which scored her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

According to Eric, his sister was “good in Mystic Pizza,” “great in Pretty Woman,” but “not so much in Steel Magnolias.”

“I don’t want to sound like an actor talking, or a jealous sibling, but I don’t think her performance held up in that movie,” said Eric. “When I saw her in Steel Magnolias, I thought … ‘She’s almost a good actor, and one day she’s gonna be one.'”

Eric continued, “Nobody’s great in that movie. They all chewed a lot of scenery, and we know that if an actor cries on film, they go to the top of the class. They get the Oscar nod because crying gets a lot of credit. It’s the big joke in all acting classes.”

For Eric, his award-winning sister earned positive reviews because her real-life Southern roots fit perfectly with her Louisianian character. He also noted that his family’s heritage was a factor in Julia’s stardom because it became “a big part of her appeal.”