Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin has publicly disclosed experiencing profound suicidal ideation during the legal proceedings surrounding the fatal 2021 shooting on the set of his film ‘Rust.’ In a candid podcast interview with Dave Manheim, Baldwin detailed the severe emotional devastation that followed the second filing of criminal charges against him.
The actor described how the case—which resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and was ultimately dismissed—plunged him into a state of extreme psychological distress. ‘The people I was most concerned about, the people that I had the deepest pain for, were my wife and my kids,’ Baldwin revealed. ‘Because my kids would see me sitting in a corner, you know, I couldn’t even move.’ His mental state became so debilitating that he required daily naps for an entire year.
Baldwin characterized the ordeal as comprehensively destructive, affecting him ‘physically, spiritually, and financially.’ He stated, ‘It broke every nerve in my body… my career, my wife, my kids, my friends, my health. I mean what it’s done to my health. It’s taken 10 years off my life.’
The actor credited his wife Hilaria and his family with providing critical support during his darkest moments. Reflecting on his psychological struggle, Baldwin noted, ‘I think countless people think about killing themselves and ending their life, and then very few do… Somehow I found the faith in God to not kill myself tomorrow. Let’s wait one more day.’
Baldwin also expressed significant frustration with New Mexico prosecutors, alleging they applied regulations retroactively rather than following established Hollywood guild protocols during the investigation. ‘No one came to me in the first week we were handling firearms… All the rules were changed after the fact, and that was very scary to me,’ he asserted. He further claimed prosecutors sought media attention, while praising the presiding judge for characterizing their actions as ‘reprehensible.’