Christian Slater reconnected with his schizophrenic father

Christian Slater says he recently reconciled with his estranged father Michael Hawkins after the man sought treatment for his mental illness.

E! News said the 45-year-old actor opened up about his troubled relationship during a chat with his Nymphomaniac director Lars Von Trier for the new issue of Interview magazine.

"He's a manic-depressive schizophrenic," Slater revealed about his father."He's always had trouble -- he was a fantastic actor and extraordinarily charismatic and very, very good-looking, but he had a really difficult time working with directors, collaborating with people."

Slater went on to say he hadn't spoken to his father for nine years, but decided to give him another chance because he is "in a place now, getting a lot of help from someone."

"[I]n the last few months my father actually reached out to me and wanted to reconcile and reconnect," he said. "I was very grateful to be able to communicate with him. From a tumultuous, back-and-forth relationship, we were able to begin to build a better bridge for the both of us. So, that was good."

Slater is best known for his roles in the films The Legend of Billie Jean, Heathers, Pump Up the Volume, Untamed Heart, Bed of Roses and Young Guns II. He will soon be seen in the USA Network series Mr. Robot.