'Rust' star Alec Baldwin admits to extreme past drug use: ‘Cocaine was like coffee back then’
Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' trial will begin in July after he was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alec Baldwin opened up about his past drug use in a candid conversation with Paul Anka and Skip Bronson.
Baldwin, 66, revealed he used cocaine "every day" for two years as the drug was "like coffee back then."
"I don't discuss this a lot," Baldwin said when asked about his drinking habits during an appearance on "Our Way with Paul Anka and Skip Bronson." "I discuss it every now and then when it makes sense. I'm 39 years sober. I got sober Feb. 23, 1985."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Before he struggled with alcohol, the "30 Rock" star used cocaine.
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Alec Baldwin detailed his drug and alcohol use in a new interview. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
"I had a white-hot problem every day for two years," he told Anka and Bronson. "I think I snorted a line of cocaine from here to Saturn."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I mean, cocaine was like coffee back then," Baldwin explained. "Everybody was doing it all day long."
"Because I stopped doing drugs, my drinking increased, which they tell you is going to happen. And that did happen. I just started drinking."
Baldwin noted he doesn't "miss drugs at all," but he does "miss drinking."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I like to drink," he admitted.
"Because you don't drink and because you don't do drugs, what do you do? Do you meditate?" Bronson asked.
"I do try to meditate," Baldwin explained, although his seven kids with wife Hilaria Baldwin don't make it easy. "Meditating with seven children is like trying to play pingpong on the deck of an aircraft carrier. It's a real pain in the a--, man."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alec and Hilaria Baldwin with six of their seven children at the "Boss Baby" premiere in 2021. (Jason Mendez/WireImage)
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Baldwin is gearing up to head to court over the fatal "Rust" shooting nearly three years after the death of Halyna Hutchins. The cinematographer was shot on the Bonanza Creek film set on Oct. 21, 2021, after a gun Baldwin was holding discharged.
The movie's armorer was convicted of involuntary manslaughter on March 6 and Hannah Gutierrez Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison on April 15.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jury selection in Baldwin's trial will begin on July 9, according to New Mexico Courts. The trial is expected to last until July 19.
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Alec Baldwin sitting in the church where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot. (Courtesy: New Mexico Courts)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Just over two months before Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial is set to begin, one of the three special prosecutors has withdrawn from the "Rust" case.
Jason A. Lewis, who also prosecuted Gutierrez Reed's case, submitted a motion to withdraw from Baldwin's case, which went unopposed by Baldwin's legal team.
Lewis' official withdrawal from Baldwin's case came shortly after the prosecution added Erlinda Johnson to the roster. Mary Carmack-Altwies, who stepped back from prosecuting Baldwin's case in March 2023, appointed Johnson in court documents filed April 16 and obtained by Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Johnson is a personal injury, wrongful death and civil rights attorney in New Mexico. The lawyer spoke to multiple outlets regarding Baldwin's case prior to her appointment, mostly giving her opinion on whether the actor would face charges.
Alec Baldwin makes a gun with his fingers while speaking with investigators following the "Rust" movie shooting that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead. (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
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Baldwin's team has filed to have his indictment dismissed. Baldwin was indicted on counts of involuntary manslaughter, negligent use of a firearm or, in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection – on Jan. 19.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Baldwin's motion to dismiss argued that the prosecution had acted unethically and failed to present crucial evidence to a grand jury.
"Enough is enough," the court documents stated. "This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme."
Alec Baldwin finished filming "Rust" following Halyna Hutchins' death. (Reuters)
Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright contributed to this report.