According to People, drawing from The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Alec Baldwin is opening up about the physical and emotional toll that followed the fatal 2021 “Rust” shooting, offering a candid account of how the prolonged ordeal affected his health, career, and life at home.
A Health Crisis in the Wake of ‘Rust’
The years following the “Rust” tragedy reshaped Baldwin’s daily life in ways that extended far beyond the courtroom. Reflecting on that period, he described it plainly: “That was unspeakably difficult to deal with.”
Work slowed to a near halt as he retreated from public life. “I wound up staying home a lot. I was home with my kids for three-and-a-half years — I hardly worked at all … I don’t want to leave my house anymore. I don’t. I don’t want to work anymore. I don’t. I really don’t. I want to retire and stay home with my kids,” he said.
At the same time, Baldwin was dealing with a medical condition that complicated even basic routines. “It impacted me in every way — financially, career-wise, my wife, my kids, my health. I was so sick,” he said, before explaining that he developed orthostatic hypotension, a condition that can trigger sudden drops in blood pressure and cause blackouts. “So I had to go [finish the film], and I was really sick.”
The symptoms became severe enough to sideline him completely. Recalling one episode, he said, “I blacked out three times during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend of that year, and fell on top of my wife once. It was crazy. It was horrible. So I get into bed. I’m in bed for eight days. I can’t get out of bed. I can’t walk. I had to go to physical therapy for two weeks.”
Despite that, obligations tied to the production remained in place. Baldwin ultimately returned to Montana to complete “Rust,” a requirement linked to a settlement with the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. “I had to get up on a horse and go back there to Montana to finish the film, or they were going to sue the s*** out of me,” he said, adding, “I don’t give the performance I want to give because I’m sick, but I did the best I could.”
