Gerard Depardieu - Depardieu's Guilt Over Son's Death

GERARD DEPARDIEU is still wracked with guilt over the tragic death of his son GUILLAUME last year (08) because they "weren't speaking" at the time of his passing.

Guillaume died last October (08) at the age of 37 after suffering complications linked to a bout of pneumonia.

The French actor admits he always endured a strained relationship with his son, whose troubled life included a battle with drug addiction, two stints in prison, and a motorcycle accident which led to the amputation of his leg.

The pair's bond was further weakened when Guillaume published a book in which he branded his father "a coward, a cheater and a chronic liar" and the spat meant the pair weren't in contact when he passed away in Paris, France.

And Depardieu still wonders whether he could have been more supportive throughout Guillaume's turbulent life.

He says, "In 2003, in his book, he called me 'a coward, a cheater and a chronic liar.' The only thing we had in common were our demons. I wasn't speaking to him (at the time of his death.) I cut him off. My son was very difficult, incorrigible. (But) Guillaume's life was not easy. He experimented with drugs, and then had a bad crash on his motorbike. He had been in pain for many years. Because of his drug addiction, he went to prison twice, he admitted to being a male prostitute, as 'an act of rebellion against me.'

"(He) was too brilliant and too fragile for life. I tried to help him, but it's hard to grow up in the shadow of your father - even when your father isn't famous. I tried my best to be a father. I told him to come to me if he was in trouble. What more could I have done, I wonder."