Actor James Woods became emotional while speaking to Jesse Watters about Rob Reiner’s death on Fox News. When asked how he knew the late director, Woods said that Reiner saved his career and put him back on track. He said that Reiner fought with the studio when they refused to take Woods because he was “too young for the part.” However, Reiner felt that he was the best fit, despite others disagreeing with him. He further said:“I went from really being basically out of a job to getting an Academy Award nomination and I give all the credit to Rob. And you know, it's funny. People would have seen, it's impossible to talk about him in the past tense.”James Woods said he was often asked how he and Rob Reiner were friends, even though they had different political views. He said:“First of all, I judge people by how they treat me. And Rob Reiner was a godsend in my life. We got along great. We oved each other. We had more fun together doing a very serious subject. It was a way to kind of get through it. And he was always on my side.”James Woods said that Rob Reiner was a "great patriot," though he may not agree with some of Reiner’s views. Woods said that even though Reiner did not agree with some of his views, he respected Woods’s patriotism. The actor said:“We had a different path to the same destination, which was a country we both loved.”James Woods talked about Rob Reiner’s daughter, TracyJames Woods considered Rob Reiner a “real thinker” at a time when people had stopped thinking. He always loved, respected, and cherished the late director. Speaking about the moment he got the news of Reiner’s death, Woods said:“I just felt a floor full. I just felt my heart drop and I just thought what Tracy's going to go through.”He also said:“I didn't know the children very well except Tracy because I'd also done a movie with Penny. So, Tracy was around a lot and you know I knew them through work and you learn everything you need to know about people when you're working on a movie. You know, it was an extraordinary experience on that movie.”James Woods said that when people spoke ill of Rob Reiner, he became enraged. Commenting on the present situation, he said:“You know, Jesse, several times we tried to get together and once it was around the time of the Palisades fire. Another time I had emergency heart surgery and I thought, ‘Oh, I'm finally going to get to talk to Jesse under the worst circumstances possible.’ I had another emergency surgery six weeks ago and my beloved wife Sarah just started sobbing and I said, ‘What's the matter?’ She said, ‘This has been such a horrible year.’”James Woods said he couldn’t wait to welcome 2026, and this year was quite uneventful. He said the world has been going “insane.”