“Stand by Me” star Wil Wheaton, who nabbed the role of a lifetime as Gordie Lachance at the age of 14, memorialized the film’s director, Rob Reiner, after he was murdered on December 14, 2025. In a lengthy blog post, Wheaton, who is also known for his unforgettable role as Wesley Crusher on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” wrote about what Reiner meant to him.
Wheaton, now 53, started his post by declaring Reiner’s sudden death “such a painful loss” and saying “my heart is broken.” He shared that he learned about the tragedy when he was watching TV with his wife Anne, and his phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. “I usually ignore it when we’re watching something, but when it blows up like that, it’s rarely good news,” he wrote.
GettyWil Wheaton Details the Moment He Learned Rob Reiner Was Gone
Wheaton says he decided to pick up the phone when he noticed a message “from Jerry to Corey and me,” likely referencing his “Stand by Me” costars Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell. He described how as he started to check the texts, news alerts “popped up faster than I could swipe them away,” and an avalanche of text messages poured in.
The actor continued, “I told Anne we needed to pause the show; something terrible has happened,” before saying he was inspired to write a blog post due to being bombarded with requests for comment from the media. He said he doesn’t want to speak for his costars, but he is “still processing and coming to grips with a tragic, senseless, devastating loss.”
Wheaton also talked about his current state, saying, “I’m doing my best. I have all these words, and I am doing my best to put them into some kind of order, but the loss and sadness and anger at the senselessness of it all is getting in the way.”
Wil Wheaton Says He Needs to ‘Process the Shock’ Of Losing Rob Reiner
“I don’t want to write this. I don’t want to talk about myself. I just want and need to process the shock and grieve the loss. But I don’t want anyone to speak for me, so I will do my best to tell you about the man I knew, and what he meant to me when I knew him. I reserve the right to edit or even delete this post,” the former child star wrote, before reliving some memories about the director.
Wheaton recognized Reiner for his humanitarian efforts, ability to make audiences laugh, and being a “generational talent,” before saying the Bronx native treated him “with more kindness, care, and love” than his own father ever did. He added, “it is the loss of that man that is piercing my heart right now.”
He further elaborated, “I only really knew Rob Reiner for one summer, in 1985, when we made Stand By Me. We only saw each other a handful of times in the last 40 years, and outside of those rare meetings, we only spoke a couple of times. Even though I haven’t spoken to him in years, I will miss him forever.”
Wheaton also sadly revealed he had been hoping to see Reiner again soon, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their unforgettable project. “I was hoping that we would see each other next year, at something celebrating Stand By Me turning 40, so I could see him and properly thank him for everything he gave me in my career, sure (it only exists because of Rob), but in my life, as well,” he wrote.
