HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichols' '' Working Girl'' (1988), Jonathan Demme's '' Married to the Mob'' (1988), and Oliver Stone's '' Talk Radio'' (1988). He gained attention for his performances as Jack Ryan in ''
The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cut ...
'' (1990) and in '' Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1992). Since then he has worked with directors such as Woody Allen in ''
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
'' (1990), '' To Rome with Love'' (2012) and '' Blue Jasmine'' (2013), and Martin Scorsese in '' The Aviator'' (2004) and '' The Departed'' (2006). His performance in the drama ''
The Cooler ''The Cooler'' is a 2003 American crime drama film directed by Wayne Kramer, from a screenplay by Frank Hannah and Kramer. The film stars William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston, Estella Warren, Paul Sorvino, and Alec Baldw ...
'' (2003) garnered him a nomination for the  Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has done voice work for '' The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' (2004), '' Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa'' (2008), '' Rise of the Guardians'' (2012), and ''The Boss Baby'' film franchise (2017–present). From 2006 to 2013, Baldwin received critical acclaim starring alongside Tina Fey as Jack Donaghy on the NBC sitcom '' 30 Rock'', winning two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work on the series, making him the male performer with the most SAG Awards in history. On stage, he portrayed Stanley Kowalski in the 1992 Broadway production of ''
A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of per ...
'' and the title character in a 1998 Off-Broadway production of '' Macbeth'', the former earning him a Tony Award nomination. Baldwin co-starred in '' Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation'' (2015) and '' Mission: Impossible – Fallout'' (2018), the fifth and sixth installments of the '' Mission: Impossible'' series. He is also a columnist for '' The Huffington Post''. He also was the host of '' Match Game'' from 2016 until 2021. Baldwin has received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Donald Trump on the long-running sketch series ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
'', both during the latter part of the 2016 presidential election campaign and following the inauguration, a role that won him his third
Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...
in 2017. He was nominated again in 2018 and 2021. In 2021, while on the '' Rust'' film set, Baldwin discharged a revolver used as a prop, which killed cinematographer
Halyna Hutchins Halyna Anatoliivna Hutchins ( uk, Галина Анатоліївна Хатчінс; , uk, Андросович; April 10, 1979 – October 21, 2021) was a Ukrainian cinematographer. She worked on more than 30 feature-length films, short fil ...
and injured director Joel Souza.


Early life

Alexander Rae Baldwin III was born on April 3, 1958, in
Amityville, New York Amityville () is a village near the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 9,523 at the 2010 census. History Huntington settlers first visited the Amityville area in 1653 du ...
, and raised in the Nassau Shores neighborhood of nearby Massapequa, the eldest son of Carol Newcomb ('' née'' Martineau; December 15, 1929 – May 26, 2022) from Syracuse and Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr. (October 26, 1927 – April 15, 1983), a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach from
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. He has three younger brothers, Daniel (born 1960), William (born 1963), and Stephen (born 1966), who also became actors. He also has two sisters, Elizabeth "Beth" Baldwin Keuchler (born 1955) and Jane Ann Baldwin Sasso (born 1965). Alec and his siblings were raised as Roman Catholics. They are of Irish, French, and English ancestry. Through his father, Baldwin is descended from '' Mayflower'' passenger John Howland, 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 Reifsnyder. In New York City, Baldwin worked as a busboy at the famed discotheque, Studio 54. From 1976 to 1979, he attended George Washington University. In 1979, he lost the election for student body president and received a personal letter from former U.S. president Richard Nixon (with whom he had a common friend) encouraging him to use the loss as a learning experience. Afterward, he transferred to the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University (NYU) where he studied with, among others,
Geoffrey Horne Geoffrey Horne (born August 22, 1933) is an American actor, director, and acting coach at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. His screen credits include ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'', '' Bonjour Tristesse'', ''The Strange One'', '' ...
and Mira Rostova at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Later, he was accepted as a member of the Actors Studio. In 1994, he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at NYU.


Career


Theatre

Baldwin made his Broadway debut in 1986 in a revival of Joe Orton's ''
Loot Loot may refer to: Film *''Loot'' (1919 film), a film by William C. Dowlan * ''Loot'' (1970 film), a British film by Silvio Narizzano * ''Loot'' (2008 film), a documentary * ''Loot'' (2011 film), an Indian film * ''Loot'' (2012 film), a Nepali fi ...
'' alongside Zoë Wanamaker, Željko Ivanek, Joseph Maher, and
Charles Keating Charles Humphrey Keating Jr. (December 4, 1923 – March 31, 2014) was an American sportsman, lawyer, real estate developer, banker, financier, conservative activist, and convicted felon best known for his role in the savings and loan sca ...
. This production closed after three months. His other Broadway credits include Caryl Churchill's '' Serious Money'' with Kate Nelligan and a revival of Tennessee Williams' ''
A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of per ...
'', for which his performance as Stanley Kowalski garnered 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 Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood ...
in a production directed by
George C. Wolfe George Costello Wolfe (born September 23, 1954) is an American playwright and director of theater and film. He won a Tony Award in 1993 for directing '' Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' and another Tony Award in 1996 for his direction o ...
. In 2004, Baldwin starred in a revival of Broadway's '' Twentieth Century'' about a successful and egomaniacal Broadway director (Baldwin), who has transformed a chorus girl (
Anne Heche Anne Celeste Heche ( ; May 25, 1969August 11, 2022) was an American actress, known for her roles in a variety of genres in film, television, and theater, receiving numerous accolades, including a National Board of Review Award and multiple Emmy ...
) into a leading lady. On June 9, 2005, he appeared in a concert version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''
South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
'' 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''. 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 The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York. At the time of the 2020 United States census, it had a tot ...
. Baldwin returned to Broadway as Harold in '' Orphans''. The show, which opened April 18, 2013, was also to have starred Shia LaBeouf as Treat, but LaBeouf 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 to 1982. In the fall 1983, he starred in the short-lived television series ''
Cutter to Houston ''Cutter to Houston'' is an American medical drama starring Shelley Hack, Jim Metzler, and Alec Baldwin that aired on CBS on Saturday night from October 1 to December 31, 1983 at 8 p.m Eastern time. The series was created by Sandor Stern. Synop ...
''. He went on to appear as the brother of Valene Ewing and son of
Lilimae Clements Lilimae Clements (maiden name Patrick) is a fictional character from the long-running CBS soap opera, ''Knots Landing''. She was played by Julie Harris between 1980 and 1987. Although not a series regular until season 4, Lilimae was created by prod ...
(played by Joan Van Ark and Julie Harris, respectively) in '' Knots Landing'' from 1984 to 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 George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...
's replacement for the fifth and sixth seasons of '' Thomas & Friends''. In 2000 he starred in " Thomas and the Magic Railroad" as Mr. Conductor. He left the show in 2002 after winning the role of Lawrence Quinn in '' The Cat in the Hat'' and was replaced by
Michael Brandon Michael Brandon (born Michael Feldman; April 20, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Dempsey in the British drama series ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' (1985–1986). His theatre credits include the original Broadway produc ...
. In 2002, Baldwin appeared in two episodes of '' Friends'' as Phoebe's overly enthusiastic love interest, Parker. He also portrayed a recurring character in several seasons 7 and 8 episodes 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. Barrett 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.'' Since season 3, Baldwin was credited as one of ''30 Rock''s producers. Baldwin has won three 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, marking his seventh
Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...
nomination and first win. He won again in 2009. Baldwin joined TCM's '' The Essentials'' Robert Osborne as co-host beginning in March 2009. In 2009, he appeared in a series of commercials for Hulu that premiered during the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...
broadcast. In 2010, he made a five-second cameo appearance with comedian
Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 200 ...
in a musical video titled "Great Day" featured on the bonus DVD as part of
Lonely Island The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program '' Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). The thr ...
's album ''Turtleneck & Chain''. Baldwin co-hosted the 82nd Academy Awards with Steve Martin in 2010. He has hosted ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
'' 17 times , and holds the record for most times hosting the show. He also impersonated Republican nominee Donald Trump during ''SNL'' coverage of the 2016 Presidential election, to critical acclaim. In 2017, he won a Primetime Emmy for his portrayal of Trump. Baldwin continued in the role until Trump's defeat in the 2020 election. Beginning in 2010, Baldwin appeared in a television campaign for Capital One as their spokesperson. Following his 2013 confrontation with a videographer reported by TMZ, his contract was not renewed,Baldwin, Alec (February 23, 2014)
"Alec Baldwin: Good-bye, Public Life"
Vulture.
and he was succeeded in the campaign by Jennifer Garner. On February 4, 2012, he hosted the 2011 NFL Honors awards show. He later hosted the second show on February 2, 2013. In 2013 Baldwin briefly hosted ''
Up Late with Alec Baldwin ''Up Late with Alec Baldwin'' is a late-night talk show that aired briefly on MSNBC hosted by Alec Baldwin. The series lasted five episodes airing Fridays at 10 p.m. from October 11 to November 8, 2013, in a time-slot previously held by '' Lockup' ...
'' on MSNBC. On November 26, 2013, the program was cancelled after only five episodes,Johnson, Richard (November 26, 2013)
"Pack your bags, Alec! MSNBC fires Baldwin over anti-gay slurs"
. ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
''. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
due in part to a street tirade captured on video. TMZ claimed Baldwin's insult toward the videographer was "cocksucking fag". Baldwin, who denied that he used the word "fag", later cited this incident as a major turning point in his public life. In 2016 Baldwin began hosting a reboot of the game show '' Match Game'' on ABC. In 2017, he took over as sole host of TCM's ''The Essentials'' following the death of his co-host, Robert Osborne. In August 2017, Baldwin's production company, El Dorado Pictures, signed a first-look deal with ABC Studios. On March 3, 2018, following the broadcast of the 90th Academy Awards, ABC broadcast a preview episode of the talk show ''
The Alec Baldwin Show ''The Alec Baldwin Show'' is an American talk show hosted by actor Alec Baldwin that premiered on March 4, 2018, on ABC. The series is Baldwin's second talk show following 2013's ''Up Late with Alec Baldwin'' on MSNBC and the first prime-time p ...
'', at the time called ''Sundays With Alec Baldwin'', scheduled to formally debut with a nine-episode order that fall. Baldwin was the subject of the 2019 edition of the Comedy Central Roast, which included among the roastees a surprise appearance by his daughter Ireland. In 2021, Baldwin starred opposite Jamie Dornan and Christian Slater in the miniseries '' Dr. Death'' on Peacock.


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 further recognition as a leading man with his role as Jack Ryan in ''
The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cut ...
'' (1990). That same year, he also starred in the black comedy crime film '' Miami Blues'' alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward. Baldwin met 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 same 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. 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 The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
in '' The Shadow''. The film made $48 million. In 1996 and 1997 he starred in several more thrillers, including '' The Edge'', ''
The Juror ''The Juror'' is a 1996 American legal thriller film based on the 1995 novel by George Dawes Green. It was directed by Brian Gibson and stars Demi Moore as a single mother picked for jury duty for a mafia trial and Alec Baldwin as a mobster sent t ...
'', and ''
Heaven's Prisoners ''Heaven's Prisoners'' is a 1996 American dramatic crime thriller film directed by Phil Joanou and starring Alec Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, Mary Stuart Masterson, Teri Hatcher and Eric Roberts. It is based on a Dave Robicheaux homonymous novel by Ja ...
''. Baldwin shifted towards character acting, beginning with ''
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...
'' 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 ''The Cooler'' is a 2003 American crime drama film directed by Wayne Kramer, from a screenplay by Frank Hannah and Kramer. The film stars William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston, Estella Warren, Paul Sorvino, and Alec Baldw ...
''. He appeared in Martin Scorsese's '' The Aviator'' (2004) and '' The Departed'' (2006). In 2006, he starred in the film '' Mini'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 Devil and Daniel Webster "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1936) is a short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benét. He tells of a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is later defended by Daniel Webster, a fictional version of the noted 19th-c ...
'' 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 was eventually acquired by The Yari Group without Baldwin's involvement. In 2007, the Yari Film Group announced that it would give the film, now titled '' Shortcut to Happiness'', a theatrical release in the spring, and cable film network Starz! announced that it had acquired
pay TV Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
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, and reprised the role in '' Mission: Impossible – Fallout'', released on July 27, 2018. On August 27, 2018, it was announced that Baldwin would join the cast for '' ''Joker'''', playing Thomas Wayne, father of
Bruce Wayne Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
. Later, on August 29, 2018, Baldwin withdrew from the role. That same year, Baldwin made cameo appearances in the Best Picture-nominated films '' BlacKkKlansman'' and '' A Star Is Born'' as Dr. Kennebrew Beaureguard and himself, respectively.


Radio and podcasts

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 Save the Manatee (SMC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group and membership organization dedicated to the conservation of manatees. The organization was founded in 1981 by singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett, and Governor of Florida (and later U.S. Se ...
. On October 24, 2011, WNYC public radio released the first episode of Baldwin's podcast '' Here's the Thing'', a series of interviews with public figures including artists, policy-makers, and performers. The first two episodes featured actor
Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...
and political consultant
Ed Rollins Edward Rollins (born March 19, 1943) is an American political consultant and advisor who has worked on several high-profile Republican political campaigns in the United States. In 1983 and 1984, he was national campaign director for the succe ...
. Between 2011 and 2020, Baldwin completed more than 150 interviews, with guests who included musician Wynton Marsalis, filmmaker Edward Norton, comedian David Letterman, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist
Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...
among many others. ''Here's the Thing'' was developed for Alec Baldwin by Lu Olkowski, Trey Kay, Kathy Russo, and Emily Botein.


Books

Baldwin co-authored the book ''A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce'' with Mark Tabb in 2008. His 2017 memoir ''Nevertheless'' debuted at No. 5 on ''The New York Times'' hardcover nonfiction best-seller list.


Philanthropy

Baldwin, along with his mother Carol, created the Carol M. Baldwin Cancer Research Fund. This led to the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center at the
Stony Brook University Hospital Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH), previously known as Stony Brook University Medical Center, is a nationally ranked, 695-bed non-profit, research, and academic medical center located in Stony Brook, New York, providing tertiary care for the ...
to be named in her honor. During his 2010–2013 stint as a spokesperson for Capital One, Baldwin's contract was written to fund Baldwin's charity foundation. He was paid $15 million over nearly five years. After taxes and accounting fees, the remainder, $14.125 million, was given to charity. In March 2011, Baldwin donated $1 million to the New York Philharmonic (on whose board he served), and $500,000 to the Roundabout Theatre Company, where he has performed plays in New York. In recent years, his foundation has donated bookstore gift certificates to Long Island libraries to support literacy programs.


Filmography


Awards and honors

Baldwin has also received a number of awards and nominations throughout his career for stage, television, and film roles. He has been nominated for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Tony Award and has received three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and eight Screen Actors Guild Awards. On May 12, 2010, Baldwin gave a commencement address at New York University and was awarded a
Doctor of Fine Arts Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) is a doctoral degree in fine arts, may be given as an honorary degree (a degree ''honoris causa'') or an earned professional degree (in the UK). Description Doctoral programmes leading to DFAs are of equivalent level ...
degree, honoris causa. Baldwin was named Esteemed Faculty by Stony Brook University after teaching a master class in acting at Stony Brook Southampton.


Personal life


Marriages


Kim Basinger

In May 1990, Baldwin met actress Kim Basinger when they played lovers in the film '' The Marrying Man''. They married on August 19, 1993, and had a daughter,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
(born October 23, 1995). They separated on December 5, 2000 and divorced on September 3, 2002. 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 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 California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
(he lived in New York), so that he could stay in his daughter's life. Baldwin contended that after seven years of these issues, he hit a breaking point and, on April 11, 2007, left an angry voicemail message in response to another unanswered arranged call, in which Baldwin called his 11-year-old 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 that 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 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, im Basingerwould have considered that a victory. Destroying me was their avowed goal." In late 2008, Baldwin toured in support of his book on fatherhood and divorce, speaking about his experiences related in it.


Hilaria Baldwin

By August 2011, Baldwin began dating Hillary "Hilaria" Thomas, a
yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
instructor with Yoga Vida in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. Baldwin and Thomas moved from the Upper West Side to Greenwich Village that August. The couple became engaged in April 2012 and married on June 30, 2012, at
St. Patrick's Old Cathedral The Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral, sometimes shortened to St. Patrick's Old Cathedral or simply Old St. Patrick's, is a Catholic parish church, basilica, and the former cathedral of the Archdiocese of New York, located in the Nolit ...
in New York City. They have seven children together.


1995 photographer incident

On October 26, 1995, Baldwin allegedly assaulted a photographer for videotaping Basinger and their three-day-old daughter. The couple was returning from the hospital and was confronted by the photographer outside their Los Angeles home. Whoopi Goldberg praised Baldwin for his actions during her opening monologue while hosting the 68th Academy Awards.


2011 runway incident

In December 2011, Baldwin was on an American Airlines flight at Los Angeles International Airport, playing '' Words with Friends'' on his phone while waiting for takeoff. When instructed to put away the "electronic device" by the flight attendant, he reportedly became belligerent and was eventually removed from the plane. He later publicly apologized to the passengers who were delayed. The incident was humorously referenced in the following months in TV commercials for Capital One credit cards and Best Buy electronics stores. Baldwin also spoofed the incident during a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
on ''Saturday Night Live'' " Weekend Update" segment.


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 A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
, killing cinematographer
Halyna Hutchins Halyna Anatoliivna Hutchins ( uk, Галина Анатоліївна Хатчінс; , uk, Андросович; April 10, 1979 – October 21, 2021) was a Ukrainian cinematographer. She worked on more than 30 feature-length films, short fil ...
and injuring director Joel Souza. The Hutchins family filed a wrongful death suit against Baldwin for his part in the fatal shooting. On October 5, 2022, Baldwin reached an undisclosed settlement with the family of Hutchins in their wrongful death lawsuit.


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.


Political views

Baldwin is a Democrat and endorsed
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
in his two presidential campaigns. He serves on the board of People for the American Way. He is an
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...
activist and a staunch supporter of PETA, for which he has done work that includes narrating the video entitled '' Meet Your Meat''. Baldwin lent his support to the
Save the Manatee Club Save the Manatee (SMC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group and membership organization dedicated to the conservation of manatees. The organization was founded in 1981 by singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett, and Governor of Florida (and later U.S. Se ...
by donating his time to record several public service announcements for the group, which had contacted him following his role in " The 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 William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
was to be impeached, Baldwin said, "If we were in another country ... we would stone
Henry Hyde Henry John Hyde (April 18, 1924 – November 29, 2007) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2007, representing the 6th District of Illinois, an area of Chicago' ...
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 that it was meant as a joke and promised not to re-run it. Baldwin said in a 2006 interview with ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' that if he did become involved in electoral politics, he would prefer to run for Governor of New York. When asked if he was qualified for the office, Baldwin responded that he considered himself more qualified than California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. On December 21, 2011, Baldwin, addressing speculation, said he was abandoning plans to run for mayor of New York City 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 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". During the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2011, Baldwin was slated to appear in a taped 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
Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...
.


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* * * * * * *
Alec Baldwin's Charity Work
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Alec 1958 births Living people 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors American game show hosts American male comedians American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of English descent American people of French descent American people of Irish descent American podcasters Alec Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Canadian Screen Award winners Catholics from New York (state) Classical music radio presenters Comedians from New York (state) George Washington University alumni HuffPost writers and columnists Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Male actors from New York (state) Method actors MSNBC people New York (state) Democrats Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners People for the American Way people People from Amityville, New York People from Greenwich Village People from Massapequa, New York People from the Upper West Side Tisch School of the Arts alumni Berner High School alumni