Many aspects of the movie were inspired by Nick\u2019s relationship with his father \u2014 including a line where the father character tells his son, \u201cI\u2019d rather you hate me and you be alive.\u201d Nick said in a 2016 interview with AOL<\/a> that he \u201cdidn\u2019t bond a lot\u201d with his father while he was growing up.<\/p>\n Nick gave an interview about \u201cBeing Charlie\u201d alongside his family at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015, saying that his decision to quit heroin was driven by a practical realization.<\/p>\n \u201cI got sick of doing that,\u201d he told The Times. \u201cI come from a nice family. I\u2019m not supposed to be out there on the streets and in homeless shelters doing all these … things.\u201d<\/p>\n During the interview, Rob said he regretted valuing the advice of counselors over the voice of his son.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Nick would tell us that it wasn\u2019t working for him, we wouldn\u2019t listen,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were desperate, and because the people had diplomas on their wall, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son.\u201d<\/p>\n Michele added: \u201cWe were so influenced by these people. They would tell us he\u2019s a liar, that he was trying to manipulate us. And we believed them.\u201d<\/p>\n Nick talked about the many different rehab centers and programs he tried without success. In 2016, he told People magazine<\/a> that he lived on the streets because he refused to go to the rehab facilities his parents recommended.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He told the magazine that he could have died on the streets.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all luck,\u201d he said. \u201cYou roll the dice and you hope you make it.\u201d<\/p>\n