In a one-hour special airing Sunday, actress Kathy Bates opened up to CBS News about the death of Rob Reiner, saying the director “changed the course of my life.” 

Bates rose to prominence with her breakout Oscar-winning role in Reiner’s adaptation of Stephen King’s “Misery” in 1990. In “CBS News: Rob Reiner – Scenes from a Life,” Bates said that if it weren’t for Reiner, her dreams of being an actress would not have come true “in such a dramatic and incredible way.”

“If I hadn’t done ‘Misery,’ it would be like George Bailey going back and seeing what his life would have been like if he had never been there,” she said. “I wouldn’t have had some of the friends that I have now. I wouldn’t have had the richness in my life. I quite frankly probably would have stayed in the theater and I doubt I would have had a movie career. I might have dropped out altogether.”

Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found fatally stabbed in their Los Angeles home on Dec. 14, authorities said. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested on murder charges in connection with their deaths.  

“Rob changed the course of my life, and if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here in front of you now,” Bates said. 

The one-hour special “CBS News: Rob Reiner – Scenes from a Life” will be broadcast Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on CBS, and will stream on Paramount+.