A shocking insider account from the set of the 2015 film Being Charlie has resurfaced in the wake of the tragic deaths of Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner – painting a picture of a deeply strained father-son relationship that exploded into public arguments, with one crew member branding Nick Reiner “a spoiled kid to a tee.”

Stunt performer Erik Audé, who worked on the semi-autobiographical drama co-written by Nick and directed by his father Rob, has come forward with explosive details about the tension he witnessed firsthand. In an interview just days after Nick’s arrest on suspicion of murdering his parents, Audé described walking onto set one day to find the Reiners “just going off on each other” in front of cast and crew.

“You could tell [Nick] was spoiled and Rob was just sick of his s***,” Audé told Page Six. “I just assumed, whether this is correct or not, this kid must be pushing all his buttons. Rob can’t do anything right.” He added bluntly: “He’s a nepo-baby, a spoiled kid to the tee.”

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Being Charlie Stuntman Claims Rob Reiner and Son Fought on Film Set | Us Weekly

Audé, personally hired by Rob for stunts after a chance hotel encounter during location scouting, said the hostility was palpable from just one day on set. “That’s how weird and awkward that exchange was,” he recalled. “Families fight, but they do it in the privacy of their own home. People have a way of filtering themselves around other people. They didn’t.”

Despite the blow-up, Audé noted the pair eventually reconciled with an affectionate “kiss on the lips” – a moment he found uncomfortable but telling of Rob’s enduring love for his son. “Obviously he loved his son because he’s doing this movie for his son, and still, his son was unappreciative,” Audé said.

Being Charlie, released in 2016, was a deeply personal project born from pain and hope. Co-written by Nick Reiner and Matt Elisofon (a friend from rehab), the film follows an 18-year-old addict (played by Nick Robinson) battling his way through recovery while clashing with his famous father (Cary Elwes). Rob directed, turning his family’s real-life nightmare into art in a bid to heal old wounds.

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Being Charlie | Rotten Tomatoes

At the time, the Reiners were candid in interviews about Nick’s long battle with addiction, which began in his teens and led to multiple rehab stints, homelessness, and despair. Rob and Michele spoke of feeling helpless, admitting they sometimes prioritized professionals’ advice over their son’s pleas. “We listened to them when we should have been listening to our son,” Rob reflected in a 2016 NPR interview.

Nick, then in his early 20s, opened up about starting drugs at 15, blaming a lack of identity under the shadow of his famous father and grandfather Carl Reiner. “I had no passions,” he said. “That fame sort of informs who you are. So I wanted to edge out my own identity with a more rebellious, angry, drug-addicted sort of persona.”

The film was meant to be cathartic. Rob called it “the most satisfying, creative experience I’ve ever had,” saying it brought them closer. Nick echoed that, crediting the collaboration for helping him understand his dad better. Promotional photos from premieres show father and son smiling side-by-side, arms around each other, projecting unity.

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But Audé’s revelations suggest the cracks were far from healed. Critics at the time noted “Oedipal tensions” all over the finished product, with scenes of raw confrontation between father and son hitting uncomfortably close to home. The movie received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office, but its authenticity was undeniable – perhaps too much so.

In light of the recent tragedy – Rob, 78, and Michele, 68, found stabbed in their Brentwood home on December 14, with Nick, now 32, charged with their murders – these old stories take on a chilling new meaning. Reports of a heated argument between Rob and Nick at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party just hours before the deaths add another layer of heartbreak.

Audé admitted he wasn’t surprised by Nick’s arrest. “I picked up on all that hostility from just one day on set,” he said.

The Reiner family dynamic has long fascinated Hollywood. Rob, son of comedy icon Carl, rose to fame as “Meathead” on All in the Family before directing masterpieces like The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and A Few Good Men. He married Michele in 1989 after meeting on the Harry set; she became his creative partner and mother to Jake, Nick, and Romy (plus Tracy from his marriage to Penny Marshall).

Nick, the middle child, struggled most publicly. By his own admission, he entered rehab 17 times, cycling through facilities while his parents watched in agony. Being Charlie was their attempt to turn suffering into something positive – a public exorcism of demons.

Yet Audé’s account reveals the process wasn’t smooth. Public fights, unfiltered frustration – signs of a father at his wit’s end with a son who, in the stuntman’s eyes, remained “unappreciative” despite the extraordinary effort Rob poured into the project.

Other crew members have stayed silent, but the film’s raw edge now feels prophetic. Scenes of explosive arguments, pleas for understanding, desperate bids for connection – all mirroring what insiders say played out behind the camera.

Nick has spoken of feeling labeled a “spoiled white rich kid” after the film’s release, a judgment that stung despite his vulnerabilities laid bare. Rob defended him fiercely, saying he was “never, ever too busy” for his children.

In recent years, Nick lived in the family guesthouse, with friends noting Michele’s growing worry over his mental health. The Conan party fight – loud, public, over Nick’s behavior – was the reported flashpoint before the unthinkable.

As the case unfolds, Being Charlie streams again, viewers dissecting it for clues. What was art imitating life, and what was life bleeding into art?

Audé’s words linger: a father loving enough to make a movie about his son’s pain, yet pushed to the brink by ingratitude. “Rob was just sick of his s***,” he said – a blunt assessment echoing through a tragedy that has left Hollywood stunned.

The Reiners’ story – fame, family, forgiveness sought but perhaps not fully found – ends in unimaginable darkness. But on that 2015 set, amid the arguments and reconciliations, there was still hope. A father trying, a son searching.

Now, only questions remain.