Rob Reiner Confided In Michael Douglas About Son Nick’s Struggles Before His Death

The actor told CBS how he and Reiner connected over their experiences parenting a child with substance use disorder in a recent tribute.

Michael Douglas says he and Rob Reiner talked to each other “a lot” about parenting a child with substance use disorder prior to the director’s and his wife Michelle Singer Reiner’s deaths.

The Oscar-winning actor opened up about his friendship with the filmmaker in an interview for the CBS News special “Rob Reiner: Scenes from a Life,” which aired Sunday, where he said he understood the weight of living with a loved one who uses drugs all too well.

“With this terrible tragedy, we’re realizing how much pressure he was dealing with in his personal life with his son,” Douglas said of Reiner, whose son, Nick Reiner, was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbings of his parents.

“I also had a son who had drug issues,” he continued, referring to his eldest child, Cameron Douglas. “And I’m happy to say he’s overcome them and he’s living a prosperous life.”

The actor added, “But we talked a lot about that: What you can do as a parent, what you can’t do.” Douglas worked with Reiner on the 1995 film “The American President” as well as 2014’s “And So It Goes.”