Baldwin Claims He Was Fired for Outshining Co-Star

Stephen Baldwin has revealed that he lost out on what could've been one of the biggest roles of his career because he outshone his A-list co-star on set. 

Speaking on his podcast One Bad Movie, Baldwin claimed that he was originally cast in the 1998 romantic comedy The Object of My Affection alongside and .

The actor, now 60, scored the part of Aniston's boyfriend in the rom-com, only to be fired two days into filming.

'After the second day of shooting, after lunch this producer comes to my trailer and goes, "There's a problem,"' Baldwin recalled.

'He goes, "You can't be funnier than Jennifer." I go, "Is this a joke? This is a comedy movie!"

Baldwin clarified that he wasn't trying to 'shred anybody' by sharing the story publicly and said that he had no idea where the directive about his performance had even come from.

The Usual Suspects star was told to tone down his delivery, which he compared to being 'castrated comedically'. 

He returned to set the next day and 'tried not to be me', but says that it ultimately didn't work out and that he was 'let go' from the film.

Baldwin's role ultimately went to Mad About You star John Pankow. 

Released in 1998, The Object of My Affection follows a social worker, played by Aniston, who falls pregnant and develops romantic feelings for her gay roommate, played by Rudd. 

The film was a modest success at the box office at the time and has developed a cult following over the years. 

Last year, it was ranked as one of the best breakup movies of all time by Parade and InStyle.

After the film's success, Aniston went on to break herself out of the rom-com niche by starring in edgier projects like the black comedy Office Space and the Mike White drama film The Good Girl. 

Aniston went on to work with Rudd again in Friends, and then for a third time in the 2012 comedy Wanderlust.   

These days, she's better known for her lead role in the hit AppleTV+ series The Morning Show.

As for Baldwin, his acting career has slowed down following his heyday in the '90s.

At his peak, the youngest Baldwin brother starred in The Usual Suspects, Threesome, and Bio-Dome.

In the 2000s he transitioned into reality television by starring on The Mole, Celebrity Big Brother, The Celebrity Apprentice, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.

Back in March, Baldwin bizarrely suggested that an alien invasion will change the face of the country in an Instagram post.

He appeared to be speaking in reaction to the Academy Awards, where the vampire drama Sinners took home four honors on a record-breaking 16 nominations.

'After aliens come it’ll be a whole new different America and the leadership as I type these words is counting on you buying this movie ticket while they receive the box office Marty Supreme,' he wrote. 

He then praised Sinners star Michael B. Jordan for his Best Actor win.