Stephen Baldwin has made controversial claims against Jennifer Aniston, alleging that he was fired from a major movie role because he was funnier than his A-list co-star.
Speaking on his podcast, One Bad Movie, the 60-year-old actor revealed that he was originally cast as Aniston’s boyfriend in the 1998 romantic comedy The Object of My Affection.
However, his time on the production was cut incredibly short when he was abruptly let go just two days into filming for apparently outshining the Friends star on set.
Recalling the incident, Baldwin explained that a producer walked into his trailer after lunch on the second day of shooting to inform him that there was a problem.
According to the actor, the producer told him, “You can’t be funnier than Jennifer,” to which Baldwin replied, “Is this a joke? This is a comedy movie!”
Whilst he clarified that he was not trying to shred anybody by sharing the story publicly now, he admitted he had no idea where the directive about his performance had actually come from.
Following the warning, the Usual Suspects star was instructed to tone down his comedic delivery, a restriction he compared to being castrated comedically.
He returned to the set the following day and tried not to be himself, but the adjustment ultimately did not work out and he was officially let go from the project.
The role was subsequently handed to Mad About You star John Pankow.
Released in 1998, The Object of My Affection stars Aniston as a pregnant social worker who develops romantic feelings for her gay roommate, played by Paul Rudd.
The film achieved modest success at the box office upon its initial release and has since developed a dedicated cult following.
Its enduring popularity was cemented last year when both Parade and InStyle ranked it as one of the best breakup movies of all time.
Following the success of the rom-com, Aniston successfully broke out of her comedy niche by taking on edgier projects, including the cult black comedy Office Space and the critically acclaimed Mike White drama The Good Girl.
She later reunited with Rudd on the set of Friends and worked with him for a third time in the 2012 comedy Wanderlust.
In contrast, Baldwin’s acting career has slowed down significantly since his professional heyday in the 1990s.
At the peak of his film career, the youngest Baldwin brother starred in high-profile features such as The Usual Suspects, Threesome, and Bio-Dome.
By the 2000s, he had transitioned into reality television, appearing on a string of popular competition shows including The Mole, Celebrity Big Brother, The Celebrity Apprentice, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, and Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
