- Stephen Baldwin recently recounted an “awkward” moment when he was allegedly fired from a movie for being “funnier” than Jennifer Aniston.
- The 60-year-old actor claimed he was initially cast as Vince McBride, the boyfriend of Aniston, in the 1998 film The Object of My Affection.
- But was fired after producers allegedly told him he was overshadowing Aniston with his comedic performanc
Stephen Baldwin recently recounted an “awkward” moment when he was allegedly fired from a movie for being “funnier” than co-star Jennifer Aniston.
During Sunday's episode of his podcast “One Bad Movie,” Baldwin reflected on his early Hollywood experiences while speaking with guest TJ Miller.
The 60-year-old actor claimed he was initially cast as Vince McBride, the boyfriend of Aniston's Nina Borowski, in the 1998 romantic comedy The Object of My Affection. But was fired after producers allegedly told him he was overshadowing co-star Jennifer Aniston with his comedic performance.
Recalling the experience, he said, “It was when I was really young—coming up,” Baldwin said. “I auditioned to play the sidekick, almost the boyfriend of Jennifer Aniston.”
Everything seemed fine until the second day of filming. He alleged that after lunch, a producer approached him with unexpected feedback.
“After lunch, this producer comes to my trailer and goes, ‘There's a problem. You can't be funnier than Jennifer,” he claimed.
The claim surprised Miller, who suggested that the command couldn't have possibly come from Aniston because she is “really funny.” Baldwin was quick to clarify that he was not bringing up the incident to “shred” her.
“This is just to simply say Hollywood is Hollywood,” he added.
‘They Told Me I Could Go Home'
Baldwin further admitted that he initially thought the conversation was a joke. However, he said he was instructed to tone down his performance and “just say the words,” a direction that left him feeling “mauled” and “castrated comedically.”
“You hired me to play a role, and now you're telling me not to play that role,” he remembered thinking at the time.
Baldwin adjusted his performance, but after lunch he was informed that he was no longer needed on the production.
“They let me go. They told me I could go home. It was all cool, but that was just awkward,” Baldwin alleged.
The role of Vince ultimately went to “Mad About You” star John Pankow.
Not The First Time
Baldwin further revealed that The Object of My Affection wasn't the first project he was fired from.
“And this happened, I got fired from Casualties of War starring Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox. I created a character and they went, ‘It's not working,'” he explained.
About The Object of My Affection
Made under the direction of Nicholas Hytner, The Object of My Affection is about Nina (Aniston), a New York City social worker who gets pregnant by her boyfriend (Pankow).
But she had to decide whether she wanted to overbear her boyfriend Vince (John Pankow) or raise her child with her gay roommate George (Paul Rudd). When she finally chose Rudd, she eventually starts developing romantic feelings for him.