 Alec Baldwin at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, on January 23, 2010. | |
Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing for his role as Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons (Seasons 6 & 7) before his character was killed off. The series aired on CBS from 1979 to 1993. He has since played both leading and supporting roles in films such as Beetlejuice (1988), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006). His performance in the 2003 film The Cooler garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
As of 2006 he stars as Jack Donaghy on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. He has received two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards. He is the oldest of the Baldwin brothers working in Hollywood.
Early life
Baldwin was born in Nassau Shores, Massapequa, New York,the son of Carolyn Newcomb (née Martineau) and Alexander Rae Baldwin, Jr., a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach. Baldwin was raised in a Roman Catholic family of Irish, English and French descent.He has three younger brothers, Daniel, William, and Stephen, who also became actors.Baldwin attended Alfred G. Berner High School in Massapequa, Long Island, and played football there under Coach Bob Reifsnyder, who is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Baldwin worked as a busboy at the famous New York City disco Studio 54. He attended George Washington University from 1976 to 1979. He then transferred to New York University to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute under Elaine Aiken and Geoffrey Horne. He returned to NYU in 1994 and graduated with a BFA that year. On May 12, 2010, he again returned to New York University, this time as a commencement speaker and to receive a Doctor of Fine Arts degree, honoris causa.
Career
Stage
Baldwin made his Broadway debut in 1986, in a revival of Joe Orton's Loot alongside theater veterans Zoë Wanamaker, Željko Ivanek, Joseph Maher and Charles Keating. This production closed after three months. His other Broadway credits include Caryl Churchill's Serious Money with Kate Nelligan and a highly acclaimed revival of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. His performance as Stanley Kowalski in the latter garnered him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor. Baldwin also received an Emmy nomination for the 1995 television version of the production, in which both he and Jessica Lange reprised their roles, alongside John Goodman and Diane Lane. In 1998, Baldwin played the title role in Macbeth at the Public theater alongside Angela Bassett and Liev Schreiber in a production directed by George C. Wolfe. In 2004, Baldwin starred in a revival of Twentieth Century with Anne Heche.On June 9, 2005, he appeared in a concert version of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific at Carnegie Hall. He starred as Luther Billis, alongside Reba McEntire as Nellie and Brian Stokes Mitchell as Emile. The production was taped and telecast by PBS on April 26, 2006. In 2006, Baldwin made theater news in Roundabout Theatre Company's Off Broadway revival of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr. Sloane.
Television
Baldwin's first major acting role was as Billy Aldrich on the daytime soap opera The Doctors from 1980 to 1982. In the fall of 1983, he starred in the short-lived television series Cutter to Houston. He then co-starred in the television series Knots Landing from 1984 to 1986. In 1986, Baldwin starred in Dress Gray, a four-hour made-for-television miniseries, as an honest cadet sergeant who tries to solve the mystery of a murdered classmate. The film was adapted by Gore Vidal from the novel by Lucian Truscott.Between the years of 1998 and 2002, Baldwin was the U.S. narrator for the children's show Thomas and Friends, narrating all 52 episodes of seasons 5 and 6. Baldwin appeared in a celebrity edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in November 2000, competing against Jon Stewart, Charlie Sheen, Vivica A. Fox and Norm Macdonald. He won $250,000 for PAWS, and used Kim Basinger as one of his "phone-a-friend" partners.
In 2002, Baldwin appeared on two episodes of Friends as Phoebe Buffay's overly enthusiastic love interest, Parker. He also portrayed a recurring character in a number of episodes in season 7 and 8 of Will & Grace, in which he played Malcolm – a 'top secret agent' and the lover of Karen Walker (Megan Mullally). He also guest-starred in the first live episode of the series. Baldwin wrote an episode of Law & Order entitled "Tabloid", which aired in 1998. He played the role of Dr. Barrett Moore, a retired plastic surgeon, in the series Nip/Tuck.
On July 7, 2007, Baldwin was a host at the American leg of Live Earth, which was broadcast on NBC.
Baldwin currently stars in the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, which first aired October 2006. Baldwin met his future co-stars Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan while appearing on Saturday Night Live. He has received two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role. Baldwin received his second Emmy nomination for Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical as Jack Donaghy in 2008, marking his seventh Primetime Emmy nomination and first win. He won again in 2009. Since season 3, Baldwin has been credited as producer of the show.
Baldwin joined TCM’s The Essentials Robert Osborne as co-host beginning in March 2009.
Baldwin co-hosted the 82nd Academy Awards with Steve Martin in 2010. He has hosted Saturday Night Live 15 times as of May 15, 2010, currently sharing the title of most frequent host with Steve Martin.[10]
Film
Baldwin made his film debut with a minor role in the 1987 film Forever, Lulu. Also in 1988, he appeared in Beetlejuice and Working Girl. He gained further recognition as a leading man with his role as Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October (1990).
Baldwin met his future wife Kim Basinger when they played lovers in the 1991 film The Marrying Man. He appeared with Basinger again in The Getaway, a 1994 remake of the 1972 Steve McQueen film of the same name. Next, in a brief role, Baldwin played a ferocious sales executive in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), a part added to the film version of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play. Later that year, he starred in Prelude to a Kiss with Meg Ryan, which was based on the Broadway play. The film received a lukewarm reception by critics and grossed only $22 million worldwide.
In 1994, Baldwin made a foray into pulp fiction-based movies with the role of the title character in The Shadow. The film made $48 million. In 1996 and 1997, Baldwin continued to work in several thrillers including The Edge, The Juror and Heaven's Prisoners.
Baldwin shifted towards character acting, beginning with Pearl Harbor in 2001. He played Lt. Col. James Doolittle in the film, which, with a worldwide box office of $449,220,945, remains the highest grossing film Baldwin has appeared in his acting career. Baldwin was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in the 2003 gambling drama The Cooler.He appeared in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006).In 2006, he starred in the film Mini's First Time, alongside Nikki Reed and Luke Wilson. Baldwin performed opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in the 2007 romantic comedy, Suburban Girl. In 2009, he co-starred in the hit romantic comedy It's Complicated with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin.
Baldwin directed and starred in an all-star version of The Devil and Daniel Webster with Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Dan Aykroyd in 2001. The then-unreleased film became an asset in a federal bank fraud trial when investor Jed Barron was convicted of bank fraud while the movie was in production. The film eventually was acquired by The Yari Group without Baldwin's involvement. In 2007, the Yari Film Group announced it would give the film, now titled Shortcut to Happiness, a theatrical release in the spring and cable film network Starz! announced they had acquired pay TV rights for the film. Shortcut to Happiness was finally released in 2008. Baldwin, displeased with the way the film had been cut in post-production, demanded that his directorial credit be changed to the pseudonym "Harry Kirkpatrick".
Baldwin has also worked as voice actor in films such as The Royal Tenenbaums, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.
[edit] Radio
On January 12, 2009, Baldwin became the host of The New York Philharmonic This Week, the nationally broadcast radio series of the New York Philharmonic. He has recorded two nationally distributed public service radio announcements on behalf of the Save the Manatee Club.Personal life
In 1990, he met his future wife, actress Kim Basinger, when they played lovers in the film The Marrying Man. They married in 1993 and had a daughter, Ireland, in October 1995. In January 2001, they filed for divorce, which was finalized in February 2002. Since then, the couple has been locked in a contentious public custody battle over their daughter. ABC News reported that according to Kim Basinger's father, Baldwin's temper was a factor in the divorce.[18]A Promise to Ourselves
In 2008 Alec Baldwin and Mark Tabb published A Promise to Ourselves, which chronicles Baldwin's seven-year battle to remain a part of his daughter's life.Baldwin contends that after their separation in December 2000, his former wife, Kim Basinger, endeavored to deny him access to his daughter by refusing to discuss parenting, blocking visitation, not providing telephone access, not following court orders, not dropping their daughter off for reasons of it being inconvenient,and directly lobbying the child. He contends she spent over $1.5 million in the effort.
Baldwin called this parental alienation syndrome. Baldwin has called the attorneys in the case "opportunists" and has characterized Basinger's psychologists as part of the "divorce industry". He has faulted them more than Basinger, and writes, "In fact, I blame my ex-wife least of all for what has transpired. She is a person, like many of us, doing the best she can with what she has. She is a litigant, and therefore, one who walks into a courtroom and is never offered anything other than what is served there. Nothing off the menu, ever."
Baldwin wrote that he has spent over a million dollars,has had to put time aside from his career, has had to travel extensively, and needed to find a house in California (he lived in New York), so he could stay in his daughter's life. Baldwin contended that after seven years of these issues, he hit a breaking point, and left an angry voicemail message in response to another unanswered arranged call in which Baldwin called his daughter a "rude, thoughtless little pig." He contends that the tape was sold to TMZ, which released the recording despite laws against publishing media related to a minor without the permission of both parents.Baldwin admitted he made a mistake, but asked not to be judged as a parent based on a bad moment.He later admitted to Playboy in June 2009 that he contemplated suicide over the voice mail that leaked to the public. Of the incident, he said "I spoke to a lot of professionals, who helped me. If I committed suicide, [ex-wife Kim Basinger's side] would have considered that a victory. Destroying me was their avowed goal."
During the autumn of 2008, Baldwin toured in support of the book, speaking about his experiences related in it.
Political views
Baldwin serves on the board of People for the American Way. He is a vegetarian, animal rights activist and a strong supporter of PETA, for which he has done work that includes narrating the video entitled Meet your Meat. In February 2009, Baldwin spoke out to encourage state leaders to renew New York's tax break for the film and television industry, stating that if the "...tax breaks are not reinstated into the budget, film production in this town is going to collapse and television production is going to collapse and it's all going to go to California.
Regarding the possibility of him getting involved in electoral politics, Baldwin has said, "If I ever ran for anything, the thing I would like to be is governor of New York." When asked by the New York Times if he was qualified for the office, Baldwin answered: "That's what I hate about Arnold Schwarzenegger. His only credentials are that he ran a fitness program under some bygone president...I'm de Tocqueville compared to Schwarzenegger."
In his blog contributions to the Huffington Post, Baldwin has voiced his opposition to the policies and administration of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.In one of his blog posts, he has contended: "Cheney... terrorizes our enemies abroad and innocent citizens here at home indiscriminately. Who ever thought Harry Whittington would be the answer to America's prayers?" When asked if he had gone too far, Baldwin replied that Cheney was not a terrorist, but rather just "a lying, thieving Oil Whore. Or, a murderer of the US Constitution..."Baldwin and commentator Bill O'Reilly have been in a number of conflicts. While calling O'Reilly a "talented broadcaster" and someone who "was aggressive, but was a gentleman throughout" his interview with him,Baldwin referred to O'Reilly's employer, Fox News Channel, in the same blog post as "Roger Ailes' Luftwaffe/Looney Bin news operation."
During his appearance on the comedy late night show Late Night with Conan O'Brien on December 12, 1998, eight days before President Bill Clinton was to be impeached, Baldwin said, "if we were in another country... we would stone Henry Hyde to death and we would go to their homes and kill their wives and their children. We would kill their families, for what they're doing to this country." Baldwin later apologized for the remarks, and the network explained it was meant as a joke and promised not to rerun it.Years later, on a May 12, Late Show with David Letterman appearance in 2009, Baldwin made a joke about getting a "Filipino mail-order bride...or a Russian one" in order to have more children. Baldwin was targeted by members of the Filipino community who were offended, including Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. of the Philippines. Baldwin later apologized for the remark via his Huffington Post blog. The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs has a ban on the actor from entering the country due to his status as an "undesirable alien".
In 2002, news aggregator Matt Drudge threatened to sue Baldwin for his appearance on the Howard Stern show, during which Baldwin claimed that Drudge had propositioned him in the hallway at ABC studios in Los Angeles when he was doing the Gloria Allred show. No other action was taken by Drudge. In March 2008, Baldwin repeated the story to the LGBT magazine, The Advocate, saying that there was "a kind of creepy quality" to Drudge's sexual advances, and that he was surprised Drudge was so "uptight about being gay."
