Stephen Baldwin needed to pivot after this awkward encounter.

The Usual Suspects actor said he was fired from the 1998 movie The Object of My Affection after a producer on the film told him he was giving a funnier performance than his costar Jennifer Aniston.

“After like the second day of shooting, after lunch, this producer comes to my trailer and goes, ‘There's a problem,’” Baldwin said on the June 14 episode of his One Bad Movie podcast. “I go, ‘What's up?’ He goes, ‘You can't be funnier than Jennifer.’”

The 60-year-old said he responded, “‘Is this a joke? This is a comedy movie! Am I about to get punked? What do you even mean by that?'”

But while Baldwin admitted he wasn’t a stranger to being let go from movies in the past—namely 1989’s Casualties of War starring Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox—he noted his experience on the Aniston flick was different. 

“They didn't say it's not working first,” he explained. “They just went, ‘There's a problem. Can you just say the words [and] use your instinct for your responses that you've come up with?’ And I'm now like, ‘You've just mauled my face like a f--king wolverine asking me to just numb myself.’”

Indeed, Baldwin—dad to daughters Alaia Baldwin, 33, and Hailey Bieber, 29, with wife Kennya Baldwin—described feeling “castrated comedically” and confused in the moment. 

“I was wondering was it really about my good looks and was I fat?” he added. “I was freaking out.”

Ultimately, Baldwin said he tried to take the producer’s notes, saying, “I get back in there and I try not to be me.”

However, he said, “They let me go. They told me I could go home and that was all cool. But that's just awkward.”

In the end, Baldwin—who was replaced by Paul Rudd in the film—emphasized that he wasn’t sure if the initial note came from the movie’s director, producers or Aniston herself, but noted it didn’t matter.

“This isn't to shred anybody,” he concluded. “This is just to simply say Hollywood is Hollywood.”

To learn more about Baldwin and his extensive family tree, keep reading
 

Alexander Rae Baldwin III—the Emmy-winning actor known as Alec Baldwin—was born April 3, 1958, to Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr. and Carol Newcomb. He's the second of six siblings and the oldest brother.

Next came Daniel Baldwin, born October 5, 1960. William "Billy" Baldwin arrived on February 21, 1963, followed by Stephen Baldwin, the youngest of the bunch, on May 12, 1966.

The eldest of the six siblings is Elizabeth "Beth" Baldwin Keuchler, born in 1955 and now a mother of six with her landscape architect husband Charles Keuchler.

No. five of six is Jane Baldwin Sasso, born in 1965. She's married to Randy Sasso and reportedly has two children.

Their father died at the age of 55 in 1983 but Carol—who survived a 1991 breast cancer diagnosis—lived until she was 92. She passed away May 26, 2022, with 25 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and an eponymous cancer research foundation to her name.

“My mother taught me about second acts. And third ones, too," Alec wrote in tribute when she died. "She spent the last 25 years of her life as a fighter and a champion for the cause to which she devoted so much energy."

Alec was married to Oscar winner Kim Basinger from 1993 until 2002.

Their daughter Ireland Baldwin was born Oct. 23. 1995.

Alec married Hilaria Baldwin (née Thomas) on June 30, 2012.

They now share seven children: daughters Carmen Gabriela (Aug. 23, 2013), María Lucía Victoria (Feb. 25, 2021) and Ilaria Catalina Irena (Sept. 22, 2022) and sons Rafael Thomas (June 17, 2015), Leonardo Ángel Charles (Sept. 12, 2016), Romeo Alejandro David (May 17, 2018) and Eduardo "Edu" Pao Lucas (Sept. 8, 2020).

Ireland and musican RAC (André Allen Anjos) welcomed daughter Holland in May 2023.

Daniel shares daughter Kahlea, born in 1984, with first wife Cheryl. They divorced in 1989.

The actor shares daughter Alexandra with second wife Elizabeth, whom he was married to from 1990 until 1996.

Daniel shares son Atticus Baldwin, born in 1996, with fellow Homicide: Life on the Street alum Isabella Hoffman, his partner until 2005. 

Daniel was married to model Joanne Smith from 2007 to 2012.

They share daughters Avis, born Jan. 17, 2008, and Finley, who arrived Aug. 7, 2009. 

Daniel tied the knot with D'Asia Bellamy on New Year's Eve in 2022 and they welcomed son William "Bat" Baldwin on June 1, 2023.

Billy's been married to singer Chynna Phillips—also a member of a sprawling, complicated family—since Sept. 9, 1995.

Daughter Jameson was born Feb. 27, 2000, her brother Vance followed in 2001 and sister Brooke rounded out the fam in 2004.

Billy revealed on Oct. 3, 2019, that Vance had been diagnosed with cancer exactly one year beforehand and had since undergone 28 rounds of chemo.

The teen "stayed VERY positive, focused and kept his life as normal as possible... every single day," his dad wrote. "Kid’s a tough son of a bitch. Sharp as a tack. Funny as hell. Tough as nails. Heart of gold."

Also on the anniversary of his diagnosis, Vance posted to his own account, per USA Today, that he had "been clear" for months.

A reminder the genes are strong among the Baldwins.

"Two years ago today....," Billy posted Oct. 3, 2020, illustrating how far his son had come since his cancer diagnosis. "One of the coolest, toughest kids you’ll ever know."

Baby of the Baldwin family Stephen has been married to Kennya Deodato since June 10, 1990.

They're parents to daughters Alaia, born Jan. 23, 1993, and daughter Hailey, born Nov. 22, 1996.

Alaia wed Pocket Ace Productions founder Andrew Aronow in 2017 and they welcomed daughter Iris Elle Aranow on Aug. 17, 2020.

A certain delighted new aunt gushed on her Instagram Story, "been hard to keep this to myself, my beautiful niece is here and she is PERFECT...Auntie Hails loves you sooooo much."

While they were friends for a decade, it was after a rather whirlwind romance that Hailey wed Justin Bieber in a no-frills New York courthouse ceremony on Sept. 13, 2018.

They further sealed the deal with more lavish nuptials in South Carolina on Sept. 30, 2019, allowing dad Stephen to walk the bride down the aisle and sister Alaia and cousin Ireland to serve as a bridesmaids.

While she swapped her maiden name for her similarly famous married name soon after she and Justin legally wed, it wasn't a decision Hailey took lightly.

"It took some getting used to, for sure," she told Bustle in 2019. "It's definitely strange, it takes adjusting."

Growing up a Baldwin, she added, "I'm very proud of my family name. I come from a great family with a history in this industry."

The couple revealed in May 2024 that Hailey was pregnant with their first child together.

On Aug. 23, 2024, Justin revealed that son Jack Blues Bieber had arrived.

"WELCOME HOME," the singer captioned a photo of the newborn's squee-inducing tiny foot juxtaposed against one of his mom's immaculately manicured fingers.

Justin's mom, Pattie Mallette, wrote on X, "CONGRATULATIONS @justinbieber & Hailey. I LOVE YOU FOREVER BABY JACK."

Stephen reposted the sentiment, adding, "Amen. Congratulations to you and may God continue to bless our family.”