Mandelit Delbarco

Nick had been very candid about using all kinds of drugs, including meth and heroin, and he said he had many, many relapses.

I heard him on a podcast talking about how he hated getting sober and how he sometimes chose to be homeless rather than going back to rehab.

Well, Nick Reiner is 32 years old, born in Los Angeles, and one of film director Rob Reiner's four children.

Nick says he started using drugs when he was young.

He was just 15 years old when he began spending years in and out of rehab and addiction treatment centers.

Here's how he described himself to NPR in 2016.

Nick has been very candid about using all kinds of drugs, including meth and heroin, and he said he had many, many relapses.

I heard him on a podcast talking about how he hated getting sober and how he sometimes

chose to be homeless rather than going back to rehab.

But 10 years ago, after bouncing around in and out of halfway homes and treatment centers, Nick decided to co-write a screenplay based on some of his experiences.

Father Rob Reiner produced and directed the movie Being Charlie, about a troubled teen who has a turbulent relationship with his famous father.

Here's a scene in which Charlie's dad talks to him about supporting him through tough love.

That's right.

And, you know, Rob Reiner told NPR's Scott Simon that their collaboration was the most satisfying creative experience he'd ever had.

And Nick told Scott that making the movie was part of his recovery journey.

For example, the character Charlie steals Oxycontin from a sick elderly woman who really needs it.

Well, last night NPR spoke to cinematographer Barry Markowitz, who shot Being Charlie and some of Rob Reiner's other films.

Markowitz is a friend of the Reiners who he calls a strong, close-knit family, and he painted a very different picture of Nick Reiner, who he says loves basketball and had traveled to Europe to learn more about his family's Jewish roots.

Markowitz told us he saw Nick and the family in L.A.

just 10 days ago.