Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.

 

Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work, for two seasons (6 and 7), on the soap opera Knots Landing, in the role of Joshua Rush. He has since played both leading and supporting roles in films such as Beetlejuice (1988), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Marrying Man (1991), The Shadow (1994), The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006). His performance in the 2003 film The Cooler garnered him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.

 

Since 2006 he has starred as Jack Donaghy on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, receiving critical acclaim for his performance and winning two Emmy Awards, four 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 ever.

 

He is the eldest of the Baldwin brothers working in Hollywood and a columnist for The Huffington Post.

 

Early life

Baldwin was born on Long Island, New York; sources are divided as to whether in Amityville or Massapequa, New York.He is 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 a Roman Catholic, in a family of Irish, British, and French descent.He has three younger brothers, Daniel, William, and Stephen, who also became actors. Baldwin has two sisters, Beth Baldwin Keuchler (born 1955), and Jane Baldwin Sasso (born 1965).

 

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. In New York City, Baldwin worked as a busboy at the famous disco, Studio 54. From 1976 to 1979, he attended George Washington University, afterwards transferring to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied acting with Elaine Aiken and Geoffrey Horne at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, and, later still, being accepted as a member of the Actors Studio.Baldwin would eventually return to NYU in 1994, graduating with a BFA that year. On May 12, 2010, he gave a commencement address at New York University and was awarded 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 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 revival of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, for which his performance as Stanley Kowalski garnered an 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. 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.

 

Television

Baldwin's first major acting role was as Billy Aldrich on the daytime soap opera The Doctors from 1980 to 1982. In fall 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 gay classmate.The film was adapted by Gore Vidal from the novel by Lucian Truscott IV.

 

Between 1998 and 2003, Baldwin was the U.S. narrator for the children's show Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, narrating all 52 episodes of Series 5 and Series 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. He voiced Blue Barron in Teen Titans.

 

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 seasons 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 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 five 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 16 times through the season-37 premiere on September 24, 2011, and holds the record for most times hosting the show.

 

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 (including the monologue "Coffee's for closers"). 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 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 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. In 2001, he voiced Butch in Cats & Dogs.

 

Baldwin directed and starred in 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 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".

 

In 2009, Baldwin appeared in a series of commercials for Hulu that premiered during the Super Bowl broadcast.

 

In 2010, Baldwin made a five-second cameo appearance with comedian Andy Samberg in a musical video titled "Great Day" featured on the bonus DVD as part of Lonely Island's new album Turtleneck & Chain.

 

Baldwin has also worked as voice actor in films such as The Royal Tenenbaums, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Thomas and the Magic Railroad and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

 

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.

 

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 artists, policy makers and performers. The first two episodes featured actor Michael Douglas and political consultant Ed Rollins.

 

Personal life

Baldwin and his family are Catholic.

 

Marriages

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. On January 12, 2001, Basinger filed for a divorce, which was finalized in 2002.

 

In summer 2011, Baldwin began dating Hilaria Thomas, an instructor with Yoga Vida in Manhattan who is 26 years his junior.Baldwin and Thomas moved from the Upper West Side to Greenwich Village that August. The couple became engaged in April 2012 and were married on June 30, 2012, at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York City.

 

Runway incident

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

 

A 2012 commercial for Capital One credit cards, for which Baldwin is a spokesperson, makes 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 humorously referenced the event: Words With Friends co-creators Paul Bettner and David Bettner are on a plane and are interrupted by a stewardess 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.

Filmography
Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Forever, Lulu	Buck
1988	She's Having a Baby	Davis McDonald
1988	Beetlejuice	Adam Maitland
1988	Married to the Mob	Frank de Marco
1988	Working Girl	Mick Dugan
1988	Talk Radio	Dan
1989	Great Balls of Fire!	Jimmy Swaggart
1989	Tong Tana	Narrator	Documentary film
1990	Hunt for Red October, TheThe Hunt for Red October	Jack Ryan
1990	Miami Blues	Frederick J. Frenger Jr.
1990	Alice	Ed
1991	Marrying Man, TheThe Marrying Man	Charley Pearl
1992	Prelude to a Kiss	Peter Hoskins
1992	Glengarry Glen Ross	Blake
1993	Malice	Dr. Jed Hill
1994	Getaway, TheThe Getaway	Carter 'Doc' McCoy
1994	Shadow, TheThe Shadow	Lamont Cranston/The Shadow
1995	Two Bits	Narrator
1996	Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick	Narrator	Documentary film
1996	Juror, TheThe Juror	Teacher
1996	Heaven's Prisoners	Dave Robicheaux	Also executive producer
1996	Looking for Richard	Clarence	Documentary film
1996	Ghosts of Mississippi	Bobby DeLaughter
1997	Edge, TheThe Edge	Robert Green
1998	Thick as Thieves	Mackin, The Thief
1998	Mercury Rising	Lt. Col. Nicholas Kudrow
1999	Confession, TheThe Confession	Roy Bleakie	Also producer
1999	Notting Hill	Jeff King
1999	Outside Providence	Old Man Dunphy
1999	Scout's Honor	Todd Fitter	Short film
2000	Acting Class, TheThe Acting Class	Himself
2000	Thomas & the Magic Railroad	Mr. Conductor	Also narrator
2000	State and Main	Bob Barrenger	Also executive producer National Board of Review Award for Best Cast Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2000	Clerks: The Animated Series	Leonardo Leonardo
2001	Pearl Harbor	Lt. Col. James Doolittle
2001	Cats & Dogs	Butch	Voice role
2001	Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within	Capt. Gray Edwards	Voice role
2001	Royal Tenenbaums, TheThe Royal Tenenbaums	Narrator	Voice role
2002	Adventures of Pluto Nash, TheThe Adventures of Pluto Nash	M.Z.M.
2003	Cooler, TheThe Cooler	Sheldon "Shelly" Kaplow	National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
2003	Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003	Cat in the Hat, TheThe Cat in the Hat	Lawrence "Larry" Quinn	Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor
2003	Walking with Cavemen	Narrator	Documentary film
2003	Brighter Days	Himself	Short film
2004	Along Came Polly	Stan Indursky
2004	Double Dare		Documentary film
2004	Last Shot, TheThe Last Shot	Joe Devine
2004	Aviator, TheThe Aviator	Juan Trippe	Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2004	SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, TheThe SpongeBob SquarePants Movie	Dennis (Plankton's hired hitman)	Voice
2005	Elizabethtown	Phil DeVoss
2005	Fun with Dick and Jane	Jack McCallister
2006	Mini's First Time	Martin
2006	Departed, TheThe Departed	Capt. George Ellerby	National Board of Review Award for Best Cast Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2006	Running with Scissors	Norman Burroughs
2006	Good Shepherd, TheThe Good Shepherd	Sam Murach
2007	Suburban Girl	Archie Knox
2007	Brooklyn Rules	Caesar Manganaro
2007	Shortcut to Happiness	Jabez Stone	Also director
2008	My Best Friend's Girl	Professor Turner
2008	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa	Makunga	Voice role
2008	Lymelife	Mickey Bartlett	Also producer
2008	Journey to the Edge of the Universe	Narrator	Voice role
2009	My Sister's Keeper	Campbell Alexander
2009	It's Complicated	Jacob Adler	National Board of Review Award for Best Cast Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
2011	Hick	Beau
2012	Rock of Ages	Dennis Dupree
2012	To Rome with Love	John
2012	Rise of the Guardians	Nicholas St. North (Santa Claus)	Voice role

 
Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980–82	Doctors, TheThe Doctors	Billy Allison Aldrich
1983	Cutter to Houston	Dr. Hal Wexler
1984	Sweet Revenge	Major Alex Breen
1984–86	Knots Landing	Joshua Rush	Cast member, seasons 6 & 7: 40 episodes
1985	Hotel	Dennis Medford	Episode: "Distortions"
1985	Love on the Run	Sean Carpenter
1986	Dress Gray	Rysam 'Ry' Slaight	Miniseries
1987	Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory, TheThe Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory	Colonel William B. Travis
1990–2011	Saturday Night Live	Host/various roles	Has record for most times hosted - 16 times
1995	Streetcar Named Desire, AA Streetcar Named Desire	Stanley Kowalski	Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
1996	Goosebumps	Arnold Pagani	Episode: "Bad Hare Day"
1998	Simpsons, TheThe Simpsons	Himself	Episode: "When You Dish Upon A Star"
1998	Storytime with Thomas	Himself	Narrator
1998–2002	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends	Himself	Narrator: series 5-6
2000	Nuremberg	Justice Robert H. Jackson	Miniseries Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
2000–01	Clerks: The Animated Series	Leonardo Leonardo	6 episodes
2002	Friends	Parker	Episodes: "The One in Massapequa", "The One with the Tea Leaves"
2002	Path to War	Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense	Television film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2003	Walking with Cavemen	Himself	Episodes: "Blood Brothers", "First Ancestors", "Savage Family", "The Survivors"
2003	Teen Titans	Blue Barron	Voice role
2003	Second Nature	Paul Kane
2003	Dreams & Giants	Himself	Host
2004	Johnny Bravo	Himself	Voice role Episode: "Johnny Bravo Goes to Hollywood"
2004	Fairly OddParents in: Channel Chasers, TheThe Fairly OddParents in: Channel Chasers	Adult Timmy Turner	Voice role
2004	Nip/Tuck	Dr. Barret Moore	Episode: "Joan Rivers"
2004	Las Vegas	Jack Keller	Episodes: "Degas Away with It", "Hellraisers & Heartbreakers"
2005	Simpsons, TheThe Simpsons	Dr. Caleb Thorn	Episode: "Bonfire of the Manatees"
2005	Will & Grace	Malcolm	Episodes: "The Hole Truth", "Seems Like Old Times", "The Old Man and the Sea", "Alive and Schticking", "Friends with Benefits", "Kiss and Tell" Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor – Comedy Series (2005–06)
2006	Great Performances	Luther Billis	Episode: "'South Pacific' in Concert from Carnegie Hall"
2006–present	30 Rock	Jack Donaghy	Produced five episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Comedy Series (2008–09) Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy (2006, 2008–09) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (2006–11) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (2007, 2010–12) Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy (2007, 2010)
2010	Marriage Ref, TheThe Marriage Ref	Guest Judge	Episodes: "Pilot", "Episode 5"
2012	Live With Kelly	Guest Co-Host	March 1st, 2012
2012	Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee	Himself	Episode: "Just a Lazy Shiftless Bastard"