1980–1992: Rise to prominence at the 1994
César Awards, Paris Baldwin's first acting role was as Billy Aldrich in the NBC daytime soap opera
The Doctors from August 20, 1980, to 1982. In the fall of 1983, he starred in the short-lived television series
Cutter to Houston. Baldwin made his television movie debut playing the titular Sheriff Ed Cassaday in
The Sheriff and the Astronaut (1984). 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
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. This production closed after three months. Baldwin made his feature film debut with a minor role in the 1987 comedy-mystery
Forever, Lulu. In 1988, he rose to prominence acting in five major films. He starred in
Tim Burton fantasy horror comedy
Beetlejuice (1988) opposite
Michael Keaton and
Geena Davis. He had supporting roles in the
Mike Nichols romantic comedy
Working Girl and
Jonathan Demme's crime comedy
Married to the Mob. He also co-starred in
Oliver Stone's drama
Talk Radio opposite
Eric Bogosian and in the
John Hughes romantic drama ''
She's Having a Baby'' with
Kevin Bacon and
Elizabeth McGovern. He gained further recognition as a leading man with his role as
Jack Ryan in
The Hunt for Red October (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.
1993–2005: Established actor 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 starred in several more thrillers, including
The Edge,
The Juror, and
Ghosts of Mississippi. 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 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. From 1998 to 2002, he became the third American narrator and
George Carlin's replacement for the
fifth and
sixth seasons of
Thomas & Friends. Baldwin wrote an episode of
Law & Order entitled "Tabloid", which aired in 1998. In 2000, he played Mr. Conductor in the
Thomas & Friends film
Thomas and the Magic Railroad. In 2003, he acted in
The Cat in the Hat. 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. He played Dr. Barrett Moore, a retired plastic surgeon, in the series
Nip/Tuck. Baldwin shifted towards
character acting, beginning with 2001's
Pearl Harbor, in which he played Lt. Col.
Jimmy Doolittle. 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 directed and starred in
The Devil and Daniel Webster with
Anthony Hopkins,
Jennifer Love Hewitt and
Dan Aykroyd in 2001. Baldwin was nominated for an
Academy Award, a
Golden Globe, and the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2003 gambling drama
The Cooler. Baldwin collaborated with
Martin Scorsese portraying
Juan Trippe in the biographical drama
The Aviator (2004) and Capt. George Ellerby in the crime drama
The Departed (2006). Charles Isherwood of
Variety gave the production a mixed review writing of Baldwin's performance, "Baldwin is an earthy actor with a natural contemporary style, and his hoity-toity faux-British accent sounds more off-key than it should". On June 9, 2005, he appeared in a concert version of the
Rodgers and Hammerstein musical
South Pacific at
Carnegie Hall. He starred as Luther Billis, alongside
Reba McEntire as Nellie and
Brian Stokes Mitchell as Emile.
PBS taped and telecast the production on April 26, 2006. In 2006, he starred in the film ''
Mini's First Time. He performed opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar in Suburban Girl'' (2007).
2006–2013: Career resurgence with 30 Rock and Josh Wood in 2009 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. 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 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". 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 Rocks producers. Barry Garron of
The Hollywood Reporter praised Baldwin's character writing, "Donaghy is a perfect example of what's right with this show." Baldwin has won three
Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, two
Golden Globe awards and seven
Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role. He received his second Emmy nomination in 2008, marking his seventh
Primetime Emmy nomination and first win. He won again in 2009. Baldwin co-authored the book
A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce with Mark Tabb in 2008. Baldwin joined
TCM's
The Essentials Robert Osborne as co-host beginning in March 2009. In 2008, he had a voice role as the main antagonist in the
DreamWorks Animated film
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. In 2009, he appeared in a series of commercials for
Hulu that premiered during the
Super Bowl broadcast. 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. In 2010, he 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 album
Turtleneck & Chain. Baldwin co-starred in the hit romantic comedy ''
It's Complicated (2009) with Meryl Streep and Steve Martin. Together Streep and Baldwin received positive reviews for their on-screen chemistry. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote, "Mr. Baldwin does with Jake, who, with his shark smiles and thrusting gut, beautifully conveys male vanity in its twilight". Kirk Honeycut of The Associated Press wrote, "Baldwin has developed a second career in films and television by more or less spoofing his macho image". Baldwin went on to receive a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. That same year, Baldwin co-hosted the 82nd Academy Awards with Steve Martin in 2010. The Boston Globe'' television critic Matthew Gilbert lauded the hosts performance saying that "The delivery was expert and warmly conversational, like one of those old-school comedy teams." He has hosted
Saturday Night Live 17 times , and holds the record for most times hosting the show. 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 and political consultant Ed Rollins. 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, and pianist Lang Lang, among many others. Here's the Thing'' was developed for Baldwin by Lu Olkowski, Trey Kay, Kathy Russo, and Emily Botein. On February 4, 2012, he hosted the
2011 NFL Honors awards show. He later hosted
the second show on February 2, 2013. 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. Marilyn Stasio of
Variety described Baldwin's performance as being "executed with humor and compassion". That same year Baldwin briefly hosted
Up Late with Alec Baldwin on
MSNBC. On November 26, 2013, the program was cancelled after only five episodes, due in part to a street tirade captured on video, in which he allegedly called the videographer a "cocksucking fag". Baldwin denied that he used the word "fag", and later cited this incident as a major turning point in his public life. Beginning in 2010, Baldwin appeared in a television campaign for
Capital One as their spokesperson. Following the 2013 confrontation with a videographer, his contract was not renewed, and he was succeeded in the campaign by
Jennifer Garner.
2014–present 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. In 2017, he won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Trump. Baldwin continued in the role until
Trump's defeat in the 2020 election. 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. His 2017 memoir
Nevertheless debuted at No. 5 on
The New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-seller list. 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, at the time called
Sundays With Alec Baldwin, scheduled to formally debut with a nine-episode order that fall. On August 27, 2018, it was announced that Baldwin would join the cast for
Joker
, playing
Thomas Wayne, father of
Bruce Wayne. Later, on August 29, 2018, Baldwin withdrew from the role. That same year, Baldwin made cameo appearances in
Spike Lee's historical drama
BlacKkKlansman and
Bradley Cooper's musical drama
A Star Is Born as Dr. Kennebrew Beaureguard and himself, respectively. That same year, he guest-starred as
George Tenet in the
Hulu miniseries
The Looming Tower. Baldwin was the subject of the 2019 edition of the
Comedy Central Roast, which included a surprise appearance by his daughter Ireland among the roastees. In 2021, Baldwin starred opposite
Jamie Dornan and
Christian Slater in the miniseries
Dr. Death on
Peacock. He has a voice cameo as himself interviewing Lydia Tár played by
Cate Blanchett in
Tár (2022), directed by
Todd Field. In 2023, Baldwin appeared in a cameo role in a
Saturday Night Live sketch spoofing the
Calm app. In 2024, he returned to
Saturday Night Live playing
Brett Baier opposite
Maya Rudolph as
Kamala Harris spoofing a
Fox News interview in the cold open sketch, and later portrayed
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a cold open sketch about Donald Trump's recent Cabinet picks following his win in the
2024 presidential election. ==Acting credits and accolades==