(NewsNation) — Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he was “in disbelief” after hearing about the death of his friend, actor and director Rob Reiner.

He told “Morning in America” on Thursday that Reiner was more than just a Hollywood legend.

“This was a man with a big and generous heart, who wasn’t just a great actor and director, founder of Castle Rock Entertainment, but a man with a big, giant heart,” Villaraigosa said. “He and Michelle were the dynamic duo.”

Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead inside their Los Angeles home Sunday evening of apparent stab wounds. The following morning, police confirmed the couple’s 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, had been arrested late Sunday night in connection with the brutal killings.  

Villaraigosa said he met the couple in the mid-1990s during his “I Am Your Child” initiative, which raised awareness of what happens to children who lack access to early child development.

While many have called Reiner a political activist, Villaraigosa said he believes Reiner was a man “focused on repairing the world.”

“He used politics to get to that repair. He was a man who understood that to whom much is given, much is expected, and always felt he had to pay a debt, if you will, to the least fortunate,” Villaraigosa said. “A really good man with a big heart.”