“I can finally put my grief into words”

Cary Elwes pays tribute to the late Rob Reiner, director of The Princess Bride.

The actor who played Westley in the classic fantasy film, shared a statement on Reiner’s death along with footage from the shooting in an Instagram post on Monday, December 29. Rob and Michele Reiner passed away on Sunday, December 14.

In his tribute, Elwes recalled the moment he met the Hollywood director and praised Reiner for his heart “filled with love and compassion.”

“Enough time has passed that I can finally put my grief into words,” Elwes wrote in his caption. “I was 24 when I first met Rob Reiner on The Princess Bride. And from that first meeting, I fell in love with him.

Elwes went on to say that he was a fan of Reiner’s work and that meeting him was a “dream come true.” “As we started spending more time together, I knew this was someone I wanted in my life. I also knew that by choosing me as Westley, he was giving me the keys to the castle,” he continued.

Never miss a story: Sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The star said he immediately noticed that Rob “wears his heart on his sleeve” and is someone who “feels deep”.

Elwes remembers Rob as a passionate and “brilliant” filmmaker, who loved the experience of creating a film above all else.

“He told me: ‘Once the film is released, it belongs to other people. But while you’re doing it, it’s your time on the planet, so you want to make it good.” And boy, it was my time with him The Princess Bride beyond awesome,” Elwes said.

“I can’t remember a day without laughing,” he shared. “The film is about love, loyalty and sacrifice. Things that Rob held dear. It’s one of the many reasons he was the perfect person to direct it.”

Elwes also wrote about Michele and the love she shared with her husband, Rob. “To say they were a great team would be an understatement,” Elwes wrote.

He added that he revered the couple for using their fame to uplift others and stand up for “those who were marginalized.”

He remembered Rob as someone who could always make him laugh “without fail.”

“And if I could make him laugh back, I felt like I’d won the lottery. His laugh was one of the greatest sounds I’d ever heard – so heartfelt that it still rings in my ears.”

Elwes ended his tribute by thanking the couple for sharing their lives and art with the world.

“Because my heart still hurts every time I think of you, I know that the heartache of losing you too soon will probably never go away,” he concluded. “Of course death can’t stop true love, but life is pain without you. ⚔️💔”

The award-winning director, 78, and his wife Michele Reiner, 70, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday, December 14. Their daughter, Romy, discovered her father dead and later learned that her mother had also died inside the house after being informed by a paramedic.

Nick, Rob and Michele’s youngest son, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and taken into custody shortly after the couple was pronounced dead.

Prosecutors allege Nick used a knife to kill his parents and are seeking a special circumstance of multiple murders as well as a special allegation that he used a “dangerous and deadly” weapon, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced at a Dec. 16 news conference.

At his first court appearance on Wednesday, December 17, Nick entered no plea. His arraignment is scheduled for January 7, his lawyer Alan Jackson told reporters.

“There are very, very complex and serious issues associated with this case,” Jackson said. “These need to be processed, examined, examined and analyzed thoroughly, but very carefully.”

“We ask that throughout the process you allow the system to move forward in the way it was designed to move forward. Not with rush to judgment, without jumping to conclusions, but with restraint, with dignity and with the respect that this system and this process deserves and that the family deserves.”