The youngest Baldwin brother was cast as Aniston’s boyfriend in the 1998 film, “The Object of My Affection.”

Stephen Baldwin was ‘comically castrated’ on Jennifer Aniston rom-com he was fired from, the actor says

The youngest Baldwin brother was cast as Aniston's boyfriend in the 1998 film, "The Object of My Affection."

By Kathleen Perricone

June 17, 2026 8:05 p.m. ET

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Stephen Baldwin; Jennifer Aniston. Credit:

JC Olivera/Variety via Getty; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

- Stephen Baldwin claims he was fired from 1998's *The Object of My Affection* for being "funnier" than leading lady Jennifer Aniston.

- The actor had been cast as the boyfriend of Aniston's character and was ultimately replaced by *Mad About You*'s John Pankow.

- Baldwin says the criticism over his portrayal of the character felt like being "castrated comically."

Stephen Baldwin just broke his silence on a Hollywood secret he's kept for nearly 30 years about his widely reported dismissal from the Jennifer Aniston rom-com, *The Object of My Affection*.

Back in 1997, the youngest Baldwin brother was cast as the boyfriend of Aniston's lead character, a pregnant woman who prefers to raise their baby with her gay roommate (Paul Rudd). But just days into filming, it was reported that Baldwin had been fired "over different interpretations of the part" and replaced by *Mad About You* actor John Pankow.

Now, three decades later, he broke his silence on the latest episode of his podcast, *One Bad Move*.

John Pankow replaced Stephen Baldwin in 'The Object of My Affection'.

Moviestore/Shutterstock

"I've never told this story before," Baldwin confessed to guest T.J. Miller, who costarred with Aniston in the 2016 comedy *Office Christmas Party*. “So I get there and I'm me," he recalled. "Jennifer's cute and whatever. I got a girl. I'm good."

On the second day of shooting, however, a producer stopped by his trailer during lunch to say there was "a problem" with his portrayal of the character Vince McBride.

"He goes, 'You can't be funnier than Jennifer,'" Baldwin recalled. "I go, 'Is this a joke? This is a comedy movie! Am I about to get punked? What do you even mean by that?'"

Miller interjected to say the complaint likely didn't come from Aniston "because she's also really funny."

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"This isn't to shred anybody," Baldwin clarified. "This is just simply to say 'Hollywood is Hollywood.'"

* *reached out to representatives for Aniston, 20th Century Fox, and producer Laurence Mark, but did not immediately receive a response.

Baldwin explained to Miller that he had previously been fired from Brian de Palma's 1989 drama *Casualties of War* starring Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox for the "same thing" as *The Object of My Affection*.

"I've created a character and they went, 'It's not working… here's your money. Go home.' This one was similar, but they didn't say 'It's not working' first. They just went, 'There's a problem.'"

The criticism hit hard, Baldwin confessed.

"Now you've, like, just mauled my face like a f---ing Wolverine," he recalled thinking. "You're asking me to, like, just numb myself?"

Despite feeling "castrated comically," Baldwin sucked it up and returned to the set. But he was distracted by dark thoughts.

"I was wondering, was it really about my good looks? Was I fat? Well, you know, I was freaking out," he told Miller. Baldwin ultimately decided to challenge the producer's instruction. "So, uh, they let me go. They told me I could go home and that was all cool, but that's just awkward."

When the news broke in June 1997, Baldwin's only comment to the press was "the filmmakers and I just happened to view the role differently."

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*The Object of My Affection* premiered on April 17, 1998.

- Romantic Comedy

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Romantic”