Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Stephen Baldwin has claimed he was fired from a movie for being “funnier” than Jennifer Aniston.
The Usual Suspects actor was due to star in 1998’s The Object of My Affection with the former Friends star and on the second day of filming, he was shocked when producers asked him to “numb” himself and tone down his performance.
Speaking on his One Bad Movie podcast, he said:“I was doing a movie with Jenny Aniston back in the day … It was when I was really young, coming up. I had been doing a few things. Before Usual Suspects and all that bulls***. The Object of My Affection.
“I went in and I auditioned to play like the sidekick, kind of almost boyfriend of Jennifer Aniston.”
“After like the second day of shooting, after lunch, this producer comes to my trailer and goes, ‘There’s a problem.’
“I go, ‘What’s up?’ He goes, ‘You can’t be funnier than Jennifer.’
“[I said] ‘Is this a joke? This is a comedy movie! Am I about to get punked? What do you even mean by that?’
“They didn’t say it’s not working first. 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******wolverine asking me to just numb myself.’”
The 60-year-old actor was left feeling confused and “castrated comedically”.
He said: “I was wondering was it really about my good looks and was I fat? I was freaking out.”
Stephen attempted to take on board the feedback but was ultimately let go and replaced by John Pankow.
He said: “I get back in there and I try not to be me.
“They let me go. They told me I could go home and that was all cool. But that’s just awkward.”
Stephen stressed he wasn’t sure if the initial feedback had come from producers, director Nicholas Hytner, or Jennifer herself.
After his guest, T.J. Miller defended his Office Christmas Party co-star Jennifer as “really funny”, Alec said: “This isn’t to shred anybody. This is just to simply say Hollywood is Hollywood.
“This happened to me on [‘Casualties of War’]. I got fired … Same thing. I’ve created a character and they went, ‘It’s not working. Here’s your money. Go home.’
