Stephen Baldwin Was Too Focused on Looking ‘Heroic’ on ‘Special Forces,’ Soldiers Say (Exclusive)

Stephen Baldwin wasn’t on Special Forces: The World’s Toughest Test for the right reasons — at least if you ask soldiers and stars Billy Bingham and Rudy Reyes.

“I think he’s a classic example of, ‘Oh, my God, this is real.’ He was not expecting that. He liked when he was doing something that looked James Bond–ish,” Bingham said in a joint interview with Reyes at Us Weekly’s NYC studio on Thursday, January 9.

“[Or] heroic,” Reyes added.

While Baldwin, 58, was the first to exit during the Wednesday, January 8, premiere, he did find brief success on the Fox show while completing the first task.

“Diving onto a helicopter, yeah, he did well on it. Great, well done. But when it comes to the rest of it, carrying the [military backpack] and running, being wet, he did not wanna know [anything about it],” Bingham told Us. “When he got uncomfortable, he was looking for excuses. We’ve heard a million excuses. We hear it all the time. He was looking for an easy way out where he didn’t have to embarrass himself by saying, ‘This is too hard.’ And the truth is, it was too hard. He’s 50-something years old, but I mean, I’m older than him.”

Baldwin was part of the Wales production for less than 24 hours when he started to complain about a potential injury to the show doctor. When the doctor offered to examine him, however, Hailey Bieber’s dad had a bizarre breakdown about a future role that he could not get injured for.

“What’s awesome about this program, Special Forces, is it really is a window into military life,” Reyes told Us. “When you watch military movies, it’s combat, it’s badass, it’s heroic. Most of military life is disciplined or hurrying up as fast as possible to make a timeline. It’s cleaning, it’s taking orders and it’s going on long hikes and walks. It’s uncomfortable. It’s not glamorous. Our course is the same way. Of course, we do some really badass helicopter work, ocean work, things from heights and cliff assaults, things of that nature. And that’s the more exotic stuff. But the day-to-day is showing up where you’re supposed to show up, listening to what needs to get done and then executing it.”

Bingham added that some cast members, like Baldwin, are not “used to being called out.”

“I don’t think he likes being called out. At the end of the day, what we say is what we see,” he explained. “He’s getting shouted at for a reason. He’s getting pushed for a reason. And he didn’t like it. He’s used to stopping when he wants, doing what he wants. That didn’t happen. And that reality kicked in quickly with him. And not only was he fighting the elements and what we were pulling through, he’s finding his own mind of how he’s portraying himself and how he’s gonna work his way out of this. We see it a million times, you can tell straight away. And it’s generally the men that do it. Women just go [with the] mindset, ‘We’re getting on with this.’”

Bingham went on to note that Baldwin is a “smart guy” but didn’t want to admit he was in too deep.

“He must have done his research. Apparently he’s done quite a bit [of military training] before [for roles]. Must have spoken to people who’ve been on the show. So he knew what he was coming into, but the reality of thinking he knew and then turning up, that’s what caught him,” he said. “And he was like, ‘Oh, how do I work my way out of this?’”

Baldwin officially exited after a bizarre confrontation with the show doctor, in which he got visibly angry about not wanting to risk injury for an upcoming role.

“I think after that conversation with the doctor, the doctor had PTSD,” Bingham concluded with a laugh.

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs on Fox Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.