Nick Reiner Seemed Like a 'Gentle Guy,' Says Producer Who Worked with Him and Dad Rob: ‘Nobody Saw It Coming’ (Exclusive)
- - Nick Reiner Seemed Like a 'Gentle Guy,' Says Producer Who Worked with Him and Dad Rob: ‘Nobody Saw It Coming’ (Exclusive)
Tommy McArdle, Sean MandellDecember 19, 2025 at 4:02 AM
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John Nacion/Variety via Getty; Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty
Rob Reiner; Nick Reiner -
Douglas Shaffer, a film producer who worked with Rob Reiner and Nick Reiner on their 2015 movie Being Charlie, remembers Nick as "a gentle guy"
Nick has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the Sunday, Dec. 14 deaths of his parents Rob and Michele
Nick cowrote Being Charlie, which Rob directed, in part based on his experiences with drug addiction
A producer who worked with Rob Reiner and Nick Reiner on their 2015 film Being Charlie remains in disbelief over the shocking tragedy surrounding the deaths of Rob and his wife Michele.
"From my interactions with Nick, he seemed like a gentle guy," Douglas Shaffer, who worked on Being Charlie as an executive producer, tells PEOPLE. Nick wrote the movie's script with friend Matt Elisofon, based in part on Nick's experiences with drug addiction from an early age, while dad Rob directed the film.
"He was very open. You didn't see this inner rage or anything like that," Shaffer adds of Nick, who has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his parents. "He seemed just kind of calm, cool and collected, and he was young at the time. He was 22, but again, that's where it's just that this is a mystery."
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Being Charlie
Being Charlie starred Nick Robinson as title character Charlie, a young man who struggles with drug addiction and his relationship with his parents as his father David (Cary Elwes) campaigns for political office. Nick Reiner cowrote the movie with Elisofon, whom The New York Times identified as a friend Nick met in rehab.
While speaking with PEOPLE, Shaffer cites another producer on the movie, Stephanie Rennie, as someone involved with the production who was closer with Nick and Elisofon. "When she heard about the news, she said, 'It's a fever dream... it's just unfathomable,' " Shaffer says. "She didn't see it coming. Nobody saw it coming, and she was closer to those guys and it doesn't make any sense to her."
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Being Charlie
"Hopefully as this whole thing progresses we can gain a better understanding as far as what happened, because I feel like it is a mental health issue that needs to be on the forefront of a lot of discussions," Shaffer says. "It is a big talking point that sometimes just gets swept under the rug, and it affects a lot of people and it affects a lot of families. Obviously it affected this family, who seemed to have the perfect support system for their son, and you can only imagine other people who are dealing with that."
While promoting Being Charlie, Nick was open about his "dark years" struggling with addiction since he was a teen, and Rob spoke about feeling "desperate" to help his child during the difficult time.
In a September 2025 interview with NPR, Rob mentioned that Nick was "great" and "hasn't been doing drugs for over six years." The late star added of his son, "He's in a really good place." Nick made his first appearance in court on Wednesday, Dec. 17. His arraignment is scheduled to continue on Jan. 7.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
