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Robinson starred in the 2015 movie Being Charlie, which Nick Reiner co-wrote about his struggles with heroin addiction and homelessness; Rob Reiner directed the film.
Nick Robinson, the actor who played a version of accused murderer Nick Reiner in a semi-autobiographical film directed by Rob Reiner, has reacted to the Hollywood legend's death.
32-year-old Nick Reiner is suspected of killing parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, over the weekend; they were found dead on Sunday afternoon, before Nick was arrested on Sunday night.
Resurfaced Rob & Nick Reiner Interviews Give Insight Into Relationship, Nick's Drug Use
View StoryReleased in 2015, the film Being Charlie was a semi-autobiographical film about Nick's real-life struggles with heroin addiction and homelessness. Nick co-wrote it with a friend from rehab, with Robinson playing a version of Nick, the titular Charlie, in the project. Cary Elwes -- who starred in Princess Bride -- was the stand-in for Rob, who directed the movie.
"RIP Rob Reiner," Robinson shared in an Instagram Story on Monday. "He showed me so much kindness and grace as a young actor. An incredible artist with such a capacity for empathy and warmth."
He also shared a number of photos of the late director in his tribute.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Being Charlie shows the main character resenting "the harsh way his father and mother are treating his addiction" and "tracks closely with how Rob, Michele and Nick Reiner interacted" in real life. The two, who promoted the movie together, said it was a "cathartic" and "therapeutic" experience -- with Nick saying he got clean because, "I got sick of it. I got sick of doing that s--t. I come from a nice family. I'm not supposed to be out there on the streets and in homeless shelters doing all these f--ked-up things."
According to an interview Nick did with PEOPLE in 2016, he said he was in and out of rehab starting at 15, before spending a lot of time on the street.
"When I was out there, I could've died. It's all luck. You roll the dice and you hope you make it," he told the outlet at the time. "Now, I've been home for a really long time, and I’ve sort of gotten acclimated back to being in L.A. and being around my family. But there was a lot of dark years there."
The film -- which can be watched on YouTube -- ends with an apology from the father for how he may have treated his son's addiction at times, while emphasizing that he does love him. Charlie replies by saying he doesn't "hate" his dad before hugging him, telling him "take good care" of himself and then leaving.
The apology was something Rob did in real life, too.
"When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn't listen. We were desperate and because the people had diplomas on their wall, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son," the Princess Bride director told the L.A. Times at a dinner with his family, including Nick, who said he was sober at the time.
Michele then added: "We were so influenced by these people. They would tell us he’s a liar, that he was trying to manipulate us. And we believed them."
