Alec Baldwin has been contemplating retirement ever since the 2021 accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust.”
“I wound up staying home a lot. I was home with my kids for three and a half years — I hardly worked at all,” the “30 Rock” alum recalled during Monday’s episode of “The Hollywood Reporter Awards Chatter” podcast.
“I don’t want to leave my house anymore,” Baldwin continued. “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.”
On Oct. 21, 2021, Hutchins was shot and killed after a prop gun the “Beetlejuice” actor was holding went off on the set of the Western movie. The movie’s director, Joel Souza, was also injured during the incident.
A little over two years after the shooting, Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter and pleaded not guilty.
“That was unspeakably difficult to deal with,” he added during the podcast, calling the shooting incident “very painful.”
Baldwin has maintained his innocence, claiming he did not pull the trigger and had no knowledge that the gun was loaded with real ammunition — instead of dummy rounds. His case was ultimately dismissed in July 2024.
Despite the tragic situation, Baldwin was forced to complete the project.
“We had to go back and finish the movie ‘Rust’ in Montana as a component of the settlement with her husband, [Matthew],” he elaborated during Monday’s interview.
“It impacted me in every way — financially, career-wise, my wife, my kids, my health. I was so sick. I mean, we had to finish. We gave him the movie and said, ‘You sell it and do whatever you want with it.’”
Baldwin also detailed becoming incredibly sick while wrapping up the movie, suffering from a nerve condition called orthostatic hypotension. Per the Cleveland Clinic, orthostatic hypotension “is a large drop in blood pressure” which occurs after someone stands up after being seated or lying down.
“I fell on top of my wife once. It was crazy. It was horrible,” he recounted, adding that he was “in bed for eight days” and in physical therapy for two weeks.
“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–t out of me,” he shared. “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.”
Since the shooting, Baldwin has worked on a few projects, including 2024’s “Kid Santa,” “Clear Cut” and “Crescent City.” He also starred in the 2026 Spanish comedy “Torrente for President,” portraying President Trump.
Last summer, Alec, his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, and their seven children — Carmen, 12, Rafael, 10, Leonardo, 9, Romeo, 7, Eduardo, 5, Marilu, 5, and Ilaria, 3 — starred in a TLC reality show called “The Baldwins.”
The cameras followed the family at their Hamptons home as they tried to move forward with their lives amid the trial.
However, Alec is still tangled up with the court system two years later.
In January 2025, the “Saturday Night Live” actor filed a civil lawsuit for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the court docs, he also accuses prosecutors and investigators of defamation, claiming they intentionally mishandled evidence during the case.
