Rob Reiner‘s son Nick Reiner recalled going to great lengths to obtain medication while struggling with his addiction.
In a resurfaced clip from the “Dopey” podcast, Nick, 32, revealed he created a plan to appear mentally unstable to motivate staff at a rehab facility to give him access to medication.
“They refused to give me meds because they were like, ‘You don’t need any meds,’” he recalled in the 2015 episode. “And I was freaking out.”
Nick set out to “prove” that he “was crazy” to staff at Alina Lodge in New Jersey. “I was like, ‘How do I show these motherf***ers that I’m crazy?’” he continued. “So, I was like, ‘I’ll throw a rock through a window.’”
The situation escalated when Nick chose to target a “meeting room” with glass windows, adding, “I took a rock, and I started on the path, and I was going up this hill … and I went, and I threw the rock through the window. Some woman saw me and she ratted on me and then they put me on [an antidepressant called] Wellbutrin.”
Nick shared the story while discussing the inspiration for his semi-autobiographical movie, Being Charlie. The film, which his father directed, focused on Nick’s struggles with drug use as a teenager. This led to his first rehab stint at age 15. He subsequently went through 17 treatment stints — and ended up homeless — after refusing help from his parents.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” Nick told People in 2016. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun. If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless.”
The character inspired by Nick was played by Nick Robinson in the film, while Cary Elwes played the father.
“The whole process for me, I can just speak for myself, it did make me understand him a lot more, and I think it made me a better father,” Rob said at a Build Series event in 2016. “Hopefully it did. I don’t know.”
When asked about his relationship with his dad at a separate event that same year, Nick chose not to respond, saying, “Sometimes it would get overwhelming for me. I really wasn’t sure I wanted to do this.”
Rob acknowledged that there “were disagreements” between them. ”At times, it was really rough [working on the film],” he recalled.
Us Weekly confirmed on December 15 that Rob and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in an apparent homicide. Nick was arrested and held without bail on a suspicion of murder charge. He declined to enter a plea in his first court appearance, which he appeared at in a blue suicide prevention smock.
During the hearing, Nick only spoke when asked whether he was waiving his right to a speedy arraignment, to which he replied, “Yes, your honor.” The arraignment has been scheduled for January 7, 2026.
Rob and Michele’s other children — son Jake and daughter Romy — have since broken their silence on the couple’s tragic deaths and brother Nick’s arrest. (Rob also shared daughter Tracy with late ex-wife Penny Marshall.)
“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day. The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience,” read their statement. “They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.”
The statement continued: “We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life. We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”
