Alec Baldwin

Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, producer and comedian. A member of the Baldwin family, he is the oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all actors.

Baldwin first gained recognition appearing on season 6 and 7 of the CBS television series Knotts Landing, in the role of Joshua Rush. He had since played both leading and supporting roles in films such as the horror comedy fantasy film Beetlejuice (1988) as Jack Ryan in the action thriller The Hunt for the Red October (1990), the romantic comedy The Marrying Man (1991), the superhero film The Shadow (1994) and two films directed by Martin Scorsese: he Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator (2004) and the neo-noir crime drama The Departed (2006). His performance in the 2003 romantic drama The Cooler garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

From 2006-2013, Baldwin starred as Jack Donaghy on the NBC single-camera sitcom 30 Rock, winning two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work on the show, making him the male performer with the most SAG Awards. Baldwin co-starred in Mission: Impossible - Rouge Nation, the fifth installment of the Mission: Impossible series (released on July 31, 2015) He is also a columnist for The Huffington Post.

Early Life
Baldwin was born April 3, 1958 in Amityville, New York and raised in the Nassau Shores neighborhood of nearby Massapequa. The eldest son of Carol Newcomb (nee Martineau; born 1930) and Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr. (October 26, 1972-April 15, 1983) a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach. He has three younger brothers named: Daniel, William and Stephen who also became actors. He also has two sisters named Beth and Jane. Alec and his siblings were raised as Roman Catholics. They are of English, Irish, Scottish, French and German ancestry. Through his father, Baldwin is descended from Mayflower passenger John Howard and through this line is the 13th generation of his family born in North America and the 14th generation to live in North America.

Baldwin attended Alfred G. Berner High School in Massapequa and played football there under coach Bob Reifsynder. In New York City, Baldwin worked as a busboy at the disco Studio 54. From 1976-1979, he attended George Washington University afterwards transferring to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. There he studied with among others Geoffrey Holmes and Mire Rostova at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Later, he was accepted as a member of the Actor's Studio. Baldwin eventually returned to NYU in 1994 graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree that year.

Stage
Baldwin made his Broadway debut in 1986 in a revival of Joe Orton's Loot alongside Zoe Wanamaker, Zeljko 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 revival of Tennesse William's A Streetcar Named Desire for which his performance as Stanley Kowalski garnered a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor. Baldwin also received Emmy nominations for the 1995 television version of this production, in which both he an Jessica Lange reprised their roles alongside John Goodman and Diane Lane. In 1998, Baldwin played the title role of Macbeth at The Public Theatre alongside Angela Bassett and Live 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 Bills, alongside Reba McEntire as Nellie and Brian Stokes Mitchellas Emilie. This production was taped and telecast by PBS on April 26, 2006. In 2006, Baldwin made theatre news in Roundabout Theatre Company's Off-Broadway revival Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr. Sloane. In 2010, Baldwin starred opposite Sam Underwood in a critically acclaimed revival of Peter Shaffer's Equus directed by Tony Walton at Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York.

Baldwin has returned to Broadway as Harold in Orphans. The show, which opened on April 18, 2013 was also o have starred Shia LeBeouf as Treat But LeBeouf left the production in rehearsals and was replaced by Ben Foster.

Television
Baldwin's first acting role was as Billy Aldrich in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors from 1980-1982. In the fall of 1983, he starred in the short-lived television series Cutter to Houston. He went on to appear as the brother of Valene Ewing and son of Lilimae Clements (played by Joan Van Ark and Julie Harris respectively) in Knotts Landing from 1984-1985. 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 gay classmate. In 1998, he became the third narrator and George Carlin's replacement for the fifth and final season of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. He left the series in 2002 on winning the role of Lawrence Quinn in The Cat in the Hat and was replaced by Michael Brandon.

In 2002, Baldwin appeared in two episodes of Friends as Phoebe Buffay's overly enthusiastic love interest Parker. He also portrayed 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 Dr. Barrette Moore (a retired plastic surgeon) in the series Nip/Tuck. He starred as Jack Donaghy on NBC's 30 Rock which first aired in October 2006. He met his future co-stars Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan while appearing on Saturday Night Live and is one of only two actors to whom Lorne Michaels has extended an offer to host the show should their schedules permit (the other being Christopher Walken) Since season 3, Baldwin was credited as producer of the show.

Baldwin has won two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role. He received his second Emmy nomination for Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical as Jack Donaghy in 2008, making his seventh Primetime Emmy nomination and first win. He won again in 2009.

Baldwin joined TCM's The Essentials Robert Osborne co-host beginning in March 2009. In 2009, he appeared in a series of commercials for Hulu that premiered during the Super Bowl broadcast. In 2010, he made a five-second cameo appearance with comedian Andy Samberg in the musical video titled "Great Day" featured on the bonus DVD as part of Lonely Island's album Turtleneck & Chain.

Baldwin co-hosted the 82nd Academy Awards with Steve Martin in 2010. He has hosted Saturday Night Live 16 times through season-37 premiere on September 24, 2011 and holds the record for most times hosting the show. Since 2010, he has appeared in a television campaign for Capital One Bank, the proceeds in which ($10.5 million) he has donated to various charities, mostly in the arts. On February 4, 2012 he hosted the 2011 NFL Honors awards show. He also hosted the second show on February 2, 2013.

In August 2013, it was announced that Baldwin was getting his own weekly show in MSNBC's primetime line-up. It was set to run on Friday at 10 p.m. ET. On September 5, 2013 MSNBC officially announced Baldwin's show would be called Up Late with Alec Baldwin. On November 26, 2013 the program was cancelled after only five episodes due in part to a street tirade captured on video. TMZ claimed Baldwin's insult towards the videographer was "C*cks*cking f*g". Baldwin, who denied that he used the word f*g later cited this incident as a major turning point in his public life.

In the summer of 2016, it was announced that Baldwin will host a revival of Match Game for ABC, and like it's original 1962-1969 counterpart (known simple as The Match Game), it will be taped in New York City.

Film
Baldwin made his film debut with a minor role in the 1987 film Forever, Lulu. In 1988, he appeared in Beetlejuice and Working Girl He gained future recognition as a leading man with his role as Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October (1990).

Baldwin meet his future wife Kim Basinger when they played lovers in the 1991 film The Marrying Man. Next, 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 (including the monologue "Coffee's for closers"). Later that year, he starred in Prelude to a Kiss with Meg Ryan which was based on a Broadway play of the same name. The film received a lukewarm reception by critics and grossed only $22 million worldwide. He appeared with Basinger again in The Getaway, a 1994 remake of the 1972 Steve McQueen film of the same name.

Also 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, he 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. With a worldwide box office of $449,220,945 this film remains the highest-grossing film Baldwin has appeared in during 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 Mimi's First Time. He performed opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in Suburban Girl (2007). Two years later, he co-starred in the hit romantic comedy It's Complicated with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin.

Baldwin directed and starred in the film 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 band fraud trial, when investor Jed Barron was convicted of bank fraud while the movie was in production. The film was eventually acquired by The Yari Group without Baldwin's involvement.

In 2007, the Yari Film Group announced the it would give the film, now titled Shortcut to Happiness a theatrical release in the spring and cable network Starz! announced that it 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 co-starred in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, the fifth installment of the Mission: Impossible series released on July 31, 2015.

Radio
On January 12, 2009 Baldwin became the host of The New York Philharmonic This Week, the nationally syndicated 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.

On October 24, 2011 WNYC public radio released the first episode of Baldwin's new podcast Here's the Thing a series of interviews with public figures including artist, public-figures and performers. The first two episodes featured actor Michael Douglas and political consultant Ed Rollins. Here's the Thing was developed for Alec Baldwin by Lu Olkowski, Trey Kay, Kathy Russo and Emily Botein.

Political Views
Baldwin is a Democrat and endorsed Barack Obama in his two successful presidential campaigns. He serves on the board of People for the American Way. He is an animal rights activist and a strong supporter of PETA for which he's has done work that includes narrating the video Meet Your Meat. His wife has joined the cause, fronting for PETA's Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide. Baldwin also has lent his support to the Save the Manatee Club by donating his time to record several public service announcements for the group, which had contacted him following his role in "Bonfire of the Manatees", an episode of The Simpsons in which he was the voice of a biologist working to save the endangered mammals. Baldwin also gave his support for Farm Sanctuary's Adopt A Turkey Project and stated "At least 46 million turkeys suffer heartbreaking fear and pain before being killed each and every Thanksgiving...".

During his appearance on the comedy late night show Late Night with Conan O'Brien on December 11, 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 did to this country". Baldwin later apologize for the remarks and the network explained that it was meant to be a joke and promised not to re-run it.

Baldwin said in a 2006 interview with The New York Times that if he were involved in electoral politics, he would prefer to run for Governor of New York. When asked if he was to qualified for office. Baldwin responded that he would consider himself more qualified than California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In July 2011, The Daily reported that Baldwin was mulling over a 2013 run for Mayor of New York City in the wake of a potential early race shake-up after candidate congressman Anthony Weiner's sexting scandal. However, on December 11, 2011. Baldwin said that he was abandoning plans to run for office and would instead continue in his role on 30 Rock. That April, he suggested he might change his mind, saying "Let's see what things are like in 2014. I would love to do it".

In February 2009, Baldwin spoke out to encourage state viewers to renew New York's tax break for the film and television industry. stating that if the "tax breaks are not reinstated to the budget, film production in this town is going to collapse and television production is going to collapse and it's all going to California".

During the 2011 Emmy Awards, Baldwin was slated to appear in a tapped skit. However, the producers of the show cut a portion of the skit containing a reference to Rupert Murdoch and the News International phone hacking scandal. Baldwin subsequently boycotted the Emmy Awards and requested that his entire appearance be removed from the broadcast. Producers complied and he was replaced with the late Leonard Nimoy.

Despite demonstrating strong political beliefs throughout his career, In October 2013, Baldwin announced that he would not donate money to political candidates while hosting his late night talk show Up Late with Alec Baldwin on MSNBC, in accordance with the company's policy.

Marriages
In 1990, Baldwin met actress Kim Basinger when they played lovers in the film The Marrying Man. They married in 1993 and had a daughter Ireland in 1995. They separated in 2000 and finalized a divorce in 2002.

By August 2011, Baldwin began dating Hilaria Thomas a Yoga Instructor with Yoga Vida in Manhattan. Baldwin and Thomas moved from the Upper West Side to Greenwich Village that August. The couple became engage in 2012 and married on June 30, 2012 at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York City. They have two children together, daughter Cameron (born August 23, 2013) and son Rafael (born June 17, 2015).

1995 Photographer Incident
In October 1995, Baldwin allegedly assaulted a photographer for videotaping his wife, Kim Basinger and their 3-year-old daughter. The couple was returning from the hospital and were confronted by the photographer outside of their Los Angeles home. Whoopi Goldberg praised Baldwin for his action during her monologue while hosting the 68th Academy Awards.

2011 Runway Incident
In December 2011, Baldwin was on an American Airlines flight at Los Angels International Airport, playing Words with Friends on his phone while waiting for takeoff. When instructed to "put away the electronic device" by the flight attended, he reportedly became belligerent and was eventually removed from the plane. He later publicly apologize to the passengers who were delayed, but not to the airline or federal regulators.

A 2012 commercial for Capital One credit cards, for which Baldwin is a spokesperson, made a humorous reference to the event, a Viking character from the ad series asks about the phone Baldwin is using, to which Baldwin facetiously replies that it is not to be used on the runway, ending with a chiding NO! A commercial for Best Buy also referenced the event: Words with Friends co-creators Paul Bettner and David Bettner are on a plane and are interrupted by a flight attendant looking down at them, clearing her throat and signaling them to put their phones away.

Baldwin also made a guest appearance on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update segment, posing as the captain of the plane from which he was removed.

2021 Shooting Incident
On October 21, 2021, Baldwin was filming on the set of the upcoming film Rust (of which he was also the producer) at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he discharged a gun being used as a prop, killing cinematographer Hanlyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

A Promise to Ourselves
In 2008, Baldwin and Mark Tabb published the book A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce which chronicles Baldwin's seven-year battle to remain a part of his daughter's life.

Baldwin contends that after the separation in December 2000, his former wife, Kim Basinger endeavored to deny him access to his daughter by refusing to discuss parenting, blocking visitations, not providing telephone access, not following court orders, not dropping their daughter off for reasons of convenience and directly lobbying the child. He contends that 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 all of us, doing the best she can with what she has. She is a litigant, and therefore, one who walks in a courtroom and is never offered than what is served there. Nothing off the menu, ever".

Baldwin wrote that he had spent over one million dollars, has to put time aside his career, has to travel extensively and needed to find a house in California (He lived in New York) So that he could stay in his daughter's life.

Baldwin contended that after seven years of this issue, he hit a breaking point. On April 11, 2007; left an angry voicemail message in response to another unanswered arranged call, in which Baldwin called his daughter "a rude, thoughtless 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 that he had made a mistake, but asked not to be judged as a parent based on bad moments. He later admitted to Playboy in June 2009 that he contemplated suicide over the voicemail 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 avoided goal".

During the Autumn of 2008, Baldwin toured in support of the book, speaking about his experiences related in it.

On May 12, 2010, he gave a commenced address at New York University and was awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts degree, honoris causa.

Stalking Incident
On April 8, 2012; a 40-year-old French-Canadian actress name Genevieve Sabourin, was arrested outside of Baldwin and his wife's Greenwich Village apartment house and charged with aggravated harassment and stalking. She was released without bail and told not to contact Baldwin. Prosecutors said she and Baldwin had met on a film set more than ten years earlier and that beginning in 2011, she began sending him multiple unwanted emails and texts.

In 2013, Manhattan prosecutor filed nearly two dozen harassment and stalking charges for her, saying that she has continued her unwanted advances. On April 8, she rejected a plea bargain along with a trial date which was set for May 13. On November 8, at the end of a non-jury trial, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Robert Mandelbaum found Sabourin (by then 41) guilty on all counts and was sentenced to 180 days in jail for stalking, attempted aggravated harassment and harassment, plus thirty days for attempted contempt of court. She was released from New York City's Rikers Island jail on March 28, 2014.

Health and Dieting
Baldwin adopted a vegan diet in 2011. In 2019, he authored an article for CNN supporting the EAT Lancet report and recommended a plant-based diet due to global environmental issues.

Goodson-Todman Show Hosted
Match Game (2016-present)

Link
His Official Website