Hollywood Director Mark Rosman on His Daughter's Addiction & What Saved Their FamilyHollywood Director Mark Rosman on His Daughter's Addiction & What Saved Their Family
Addiction Talk
Hollywood director Mark Rosman shares how his teenage daughter's addiction pushed him from denial and frantic control into self-reflection, boundaries and true support. He talks about the family changes that helped his daughter, and how their journey inspired his film *Keep Coming Back* told from a father's perspective.
50:40•10 Jul 2026
Hollywood Director Mark Rosman on Parenting Through Teen Addiction
Episode Overview
- Parents of someone struggling with addiction may need to examine and change their own behaviour to create space for recovery.
- Early signs such as frequent "illness", blackouts and worrying reports from other parents should not be dismissed as typical teen experimentation.
- Contracts, monitoring and control tactics have limits; repeated failures can signal the need for professional treatment and family support.
- Support from groups like Al-Anon, parent workshops and addiction counsellors helps families feel less isolated and learn healthier responses.
- Learning to set clear boundaries, prioritise personal emotional health and accept that "no" is a complete sentence can reduce fear and codependency.
“Parents and really anyone who has a loved one that's struggling with this disease needs to look at their own behaviour. And once they start to change, that can often open the space for recovery in their loved one.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol or drugs when their child is in crisis? This episode of Addiction Talk follows Hollywood director Mark Rosman as he shares how his teenage daughter's addiction reshaped his family, his career, and his understanding of recovery. Known for light-hearted hits like *A Cinderella Story*, *Lizzie McGuire* and *Even Stevens*, Mark talks about moving from purely entertaining stories to writing something rooted in his own pain and growth.
His new film, *Keep Coming Back*, draws about "60%" from his family's experience, but shifts the focus from the child using drugs to the father trying to save her—and himself. Mark describes the early years as a blur of denial, fear and frantic "fix-it" tactics: contracts, drug tests, phone tracking, sober coaches and endless plans to control his daughter's behaviour.
He recalls ER visits, worrying phone calls from other parents and reading shocking texts, yet still telling himself, "She's just experimenting." A pivotal moment came when an addiction specialist calmly told him his daughter was using drugs almost every day, and it was "super serious". The turning point, and the heart of both his real story and the film, is Mark's emotional bottom.
In a parent workshop he finally admitted, "I am doing terribly," and heard the familiar line that parents need to take care of themselves—but this time it landed differently. He realised he had to put his own emotional health first, learn to set boundaries, and accept that "no is a complete sentence." As he and his wife changed, their daughter could no longer push the same buttons, creating space for her own recovery.
With a mix of humour, heartbreak and honesty, Mark shows how parents can be "the biggest part of the problem or the biggest part of the solution." If you're a parent or loved one feeling frightened and exhausted, could shifting the focus to your own wellbeing be the first step towards change?
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