Christian Slater's Father Sues His Star Son for $20 Million for Allegedly Claiming He Suffered from Schizophrenia

Christian described his father as "suffering from manic-depressive schizophrenia" in a Dec 2015 interview.

Christian Slater is being sued for at least $20 million by his father Thomas Knight Slater.

According to documents obtained by PEOPLE, Slater’s father claims his son “ruined” his acting career after the Mr. Robot star said his father was “suffering from manic-depressive schizophrenia” in a December 2015 interview.

Thomas, whose stage name is Michael Hawkins, accuses his son and ex-wife Mary Jo Slater of slander, libel, defamation of character, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, invasion of privacy as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress. A jury trial is demanded.

A representative for Slater has not responded to request for comment.

In the lawsuit – filed Wednesday in Los Angeles – Hawkins, 80, denies the allegations of mental illness, noting that Slater, 46, does not have “a medical credential or the ability to diagnose manic-depressive schizophrenia.”

He also mentions that “this publicly embarrassing disclosure, according to proof, has ruined his career in the stage, motion picture and television industry which he has never recovered from.”

Hawkins appeared in soap operas such as As the World Turns and Ryan’s Hope before landing roles in films like Trucker’s Woman and The Amityville Horror.

His son’s “attack on his profession” has “blacklisted” Hawkins from the entertainment industry and he “believes that any hope of ever acting again has been dashed into pieces.”

Months before the National Enquirer article, Slater had a candid discussion with Interview magazine in which he discussed a reconciliation with his father.

“I haven’t seen him in a few years. We just spoke recently. He’s a manic-depressive schizophrenic,” Slater said in the June 2015 article. “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.”

On rebuilding a relationship with Hawkins, the Golden Globe winning actor shared: “My father actually reached out to me and wanted to reconcile and reconnect. 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.”