Alec Baldwin wants to 'retire' from acting and focus on his family
30 Rock star Alec Baldwin has admitted although he's starting to "go off and do a bunch of things", the aftermath of the Rust tragedy has made him "want to retire".
Alec Baldwin wants to "retire and stay home" with his family in the aftermath of the Rust shooting.
The 68-year-old actor was holding a prop gun on the set of the Western in October 2021 when it discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza, and Baldwin was wrapped up in a lengthy legal case as he faced manslaughter charges in connection with the tragedy.
The charges against the star were dismissed twice and the case is over, but he is still struggling with the fallout from the tragedy.
He told The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast: “We had this incident, this tragedy, in New Mexico, where Halyna Hutchins was killed on the set of the film, and that was unspeakably difficult to deal with…
"Because of the situation in New Mexico, which was very painful, I wound up staying home a lot.
"I was home with my kids for three-and-a-half years — I hardly worked at all — and that’s just changing now. I’m going to go off and do a bunch of things.
"But I was home and I got used to it, and 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."
Baldwin has seven children under 13 with his wife Hilaria Baldwin, as well as 30-year-old daughter Ireland with ex-wife Kim Basinger.
In 2024, involuntary manslaughter charges against him were dismissed with prejudice after a judge ruled prosecutors had sat on evidence which could have helped explain how live ammunition ended up on set.
The 30 Rock star has opened up on his experiences for documentary The Trial of Alec Baldwin, which is yet to be released publicly.
He explained: "We shot it — they were around during the trial in New Mexico, and they were around interviewing me, and [director Rory Kennedy] was always asking for more time:
"‘Can I grab you for 20 minutes here? … We got the lights and the camera.’ "
He insisted the trial and aftermath impacted all areas of his life, including "financially, career-wise" and his family and health.
He added: "I was so sick. I mean, we had to go back and finish the movie Rust in Montana as a component of the settlement with her husband. We had to finish.
"We gave him the movie and said, ‘You sell it and do whatever you want with it.’ So I had to go [finish the film], and I was really sick — I had a nerve condition that you get when you take blood pressure medication, orthostatic hypotension, where you black out.
"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."
Baldwin recalled "eight days" where he was unable to get out of bed, and struggled to walk.
He said: "I had to go to physical therapy for two weeks. And 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.
"So I make it — I get there, and I don’t give the performance I want to give because I’m sick, but I did the best I could."
