Alec Baldwin Says He Was 'Really Sick' and 'in Bed for 8 Days' with Condition that Makes You Black Out amid “Rust” Litigation
Alec Baldwin Says He Was 'Really Sick' and 'in Bed for 8 Days' with Condition that Makes You Black Out amid “Rust” Litigation
Cara Lynn ShultzMon, April 13, 2026 at 11:33 PM UTC
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Alec Baldwin in New York City on March 9, 2026Credit: John Nacion/FilmMagic -
Alec Baldwin told The Hollywood Reporter that the 2021 Rust tragedy deeply impacted his health, career, and personal life
He revealed he suffered from orthostatic hypotension, blacking out multiple times and needed physical therapy
Baldwin returned to Montana to finish Rust, fulfilling a settlement agreement with Halyna Hutchins' husband
Alec Baldwin is opening up about the health struggles he's experienced in the wake of the 2021 incident on the Rust set that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead and Baldwin on trial for involuntary manslaughter.
"That was unspeakably difficult to deal with," the 30 Rock alum, 68, told The Hollywood Reporter Awards Chatter podcast, which was published on Monday, April 13.
In 2024, involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin were dismissed with prejudice after a judge ruled that prosecutors sat on evidence that would have helped shed light on how live ammunition was brought onto the set.
The situation was "very painful," Baldwin told the outlet. "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 of the seven children he shares with wife Hilaria Baldwin, 42. Alec is also dad to daughter Ireland Baldwin, whom he shares with ex-wife Kim Basinger.
Alec Baldwin during the trial for involuntary manslaughter July 12, 2024 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Credit: Ramsay de Give-Pool/Getty
Completing the independent western proved challenging for the actor. "We had to go back and finish the movie Rust in Montana as a component of the settlement with her husband," Baldwin explained of the wrongful death lawsuit Matthew Hutchins filed in Feb. 2022.
While they managed to finish the film, Baldwin said, "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.' 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."
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Orthostatic hypotension is caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure when someone stands up after they've been sitting or lying down, Cleveland Clinic says, explaining that certain medications can trigger the condition, which happens "when your body can't adjust to a large amount of blood moving to your lower body when you stand." Although there's no cure, there are ways to manage the condition.
Alec Baldwin and wife Hilaria Baldwin in New York City in December 2025Credit: John Nacion/Variety via Getty
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Baldwin told THR that his struggle with it was so severe that, "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."
Baldwin said he ultimately completed the film. "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."
Following his remarks, Baldwin Facetimed his wife Hilaria in front of THR's podcast audience, saying, "I told them if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have survived all of the Rust situation, so thank you.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
