BILLY CRYSTAL SAYS HE STILL FEELS URGE TO CALL ROB REINER

Billy Crystal said in an interview published this week that he still feels the urge to telephone the film director Rob Reiner, almost ten months after Reiner and his wife were found stabbed to death at their Brentwood home. Reiner directed Crystal in the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally..., in which Crystal played Harry Burns opposite Meg Ryan's Sally Albright. Crystal, who described Reiner as a close friend, said in the interview that he was not Reiner's first choice for the role. According to reports, the couple were found dead on 14 December 2025 at their estate, reportedly worth $13.5 million, where their son Nick lived in the guesthouse. Crystal recalled that Albert Brooks, Tom Hanks and Michael Keaton had all been considered for the part before Reiner cast him.

Crystal said Reiner eventually called to tell him "I always knew it was you," and asked him to read the script, to which Crystal replied that he did not like it, before the pair laughed and agreed to begin filming the next day. Reiner gave a similar account in a 2016 radio interview, saying he had been nervous about directing his best friend and had approached Albert Brooks and Tom Hanks and spoken to Michael Keaton and Richard Dreyfuss before deciding Crystal was "the best one" for the part. Reiner said in that interview that Crystal "nailed it" and "contributed like crazy" to the role. In a separate interview marking the film's 25th anniversary in 2014, Reiner said he had also considered Molly Ringwald, Susan Dey and Elizabeth Perkins for the role of Sally before casting Ryan, adding that Ryan and Crystal "hit it off right away." Crystal and Reiner first worked together as co-stars on the television series All in the Family in 1975.

When Harry Met Sally... went on to become one of the best-known romantic comedies of its era, built on the pairing of Crystal and Ryan. Crystal's account suggests his friendship and working relationship with Reiner continued across decades after their first meeting in 1975. No further details about the circumstances of the deaths of Reiner and his wife were included in Crystal's interview. Crystal's remarks mark one of his first detailed public reflections on Reiner since the deaths were reported in December 2025.