In 2024, he starred in the Western filmRust, which gained media attention for ashooting incident in 2021, wherein cinematographerHalyna Hutchins was shot and killed when Baldwin accidentally discharged a live round from a revolver that he was using as a prop. Baldwin, his wife Hilaria, and their seven children are the focus of the related TLC reality seriesThe Baldwins.[6]
Alexander Rae Baldwin III[7] was born on April 3, 1958,[8] inAmityville, New York,[7] and raised in the Nassau Shores neighborhood[9] of nearbyMassapequa,[10] the eldest son of Carol Newcomb (née Martineau; December 15, 1929 – May 26, 2022)[11] fromSyracuse, New York[12] and Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr. (October 26, 1927 – April 15, 1983),[13] a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach fromBrooklyn. His maternal grandfather,Daniel Roy Martineau, played football atSyracuse and later played professionally in theNational Football League for theBuffalo All-Americans and theRochester Jeffersons.[14] He has three younger brothers,Daniel (b. 1960),William (b. 1963), andStephen (b. 1966), who also became actors. He also has two sisters, Elizabeth "Beth" Keuchler (née Baldwin; born 1955)[15] and Jane Ann Sasso (née Baldwin; born 1965).[15][16]
Alec and his siblings were raised asCatholics.[17] They are of Irish, French, and English ancestry.[18][19] Through his father, Baldwin is descended fromMayflower passengerJohn 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.[20]
Baldwin attendedAlfred G. Berner High School in Massapequa[19] and played football there under CoachBob Reifsnyder. From 1976 to 1979, he attendedGeorge Washington University. In 1979, he lost the election for student body president and received a personal letter from former U.S. presidentRichard Nixon encouraging him to use the loss as a learning experience.[21]
Baldwin's first acting role was as Billy Aldrich in the NBC daytime soap operaThe Doctors from August 20, 1980, to 1982. In the fall of 1983, he starred in the short-lived television seriesCutter to Houston. Baldwin made his television movie debut playing the titular Sheriff Ed Cassaday inThe Sheriff and the Astronaut (1984). He went on to appear as the brother ofValene Ewing and son ofLilimae Clements (played byJoan Van Ark andJulie Harris, respectively) inKnots Landing from 1984 to 1985. In 1986, Baldwin starred inDress Gray, a four-hour made-for-television miniseries, as an honest cadet sergeant who tries to solve the mystery of a murdered gay classmate.[24] Baldwin made hisBroadway debut in 1986 in a revival ofJoe Orton'sLoot alongsideZoë Wanamaker,Željko Ivanek,Joseph Maher, andCharles Keating.[25] This production closed after three months.
He gained further recognition as a leading man with his role asJack Ryan inThe Hunt for Red October (1990). That same year, he also starred in theblack comedycrime filmMiami Blues alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward.[26][27] Baldwin met his future wifeKim Basinger when they played lovers in the 1991 filmThe Marrying Man. Next, Baldwin played a ferocious sales executive inGlengarry Glen Ross (1992), a part added to the film version ofDavid Mamet'sPulitzer Prize-winning stage play (including the monologue "Coffee's for closers"). Later that same year, he starred inPrelude to a Kiss withMeg Ryan, which was based on theBroadway play. The film received a lukewarm reception by critics and grossed only $22 million worldwide.[28]
In 2002, Baldwin appeared in two episodes ofFriends asPhoebe's overly enthusiastic love interest, Parker. He also portrayed a recurring character in several seasons 7 and 8 episodes ofWill & Grace, in which he played Malcolm, a "top secret agent" and the lover ofKaren 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 seriesNip/Tuck. Baldwin shifted towardscharacter acting, beginning with 2001'sPearl 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.[29] Baldwin directed and starred inThe Devil and Daniel Webster withAnthony Hopkins,Jennifer Love Hewitt andDan Aykroyd in 2001.[30] 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 byThe Yari Group without Baldwin's involvement.[31]
Baldwin was nominated for anAcademy Award, aGolden Globe, and theScreen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2003 gambling dramaThe Cooler.[10] He received acclaim for the role withRoger Ebert writing, "This is one of Alec Baldwin's best performances, as a character who contains vast contradictions. He can be kind and brutal simultaneously; affection and cruelty are handmaidens".[32] Baldwin collaborated withMartin Scorsese portrayingJuan Trippe in the biographical dramaThe Aviator (2004) and Capt. George Ellerby in the crime dramaThe Departed (2006).[10] In 2004, Baldwin starred in a revival of Broadway'sTwentieth Century about a successful and egomaniacal Broadway director (Baldwin), who has transformed a chorus girl (Anne Heche) into a leading lady.[33] Charles Isherwood ofVariety 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".[34]
In 2006, Baldwin made theater news inRoundabout Theatre Company'sOff-Broadway revival of Joe Orton'sEntertaining Mr. Sloane. In 2010, Baldwin starred opposite Sam Underwood in a critically acclaimed revival ofPeter Shaffer'sEquus, directed by Tony Walton at Guild Hall inEast Hampton, New York.[35] In 2007, theYari Film Group announced that it would give the film, now titledShortcut to Happiness, a theatrical release in the spring, and cable film networkStarz! announced that it had acquiredpay 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".[36]
Baldwin co-authored the bookA Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce with Mark Tabb in 2008. Baldwin joinedTCM'sThe EssentialsRobert Osborne as co-host beginning in March 2009.[40][41] In 2008, he had a voice role as the main antagonist in theDreamWorks Animated filmMadagascar: Escape 2 Africa. In 2009, he appeared in a series of commercials forHulu that premiered during theSuper Bowl broadcast.[42] On January 12, 2009, Baldwin became the host ofThe New York Philharmonic This Week, the nationally syndicated radio series of theNew York Philharmonic.[43] He has recorded two nationally distributed public service radio announcements on behalf of theSave the Manatee Club.[44] In 2010, he made a five-second cameo appearance with comedianAndy Samberg in a musical video titled "Great Day" featured on the bonus DVD as part ofLonely Island's albumTurtleneck & Chain.[45]
Baldwin in 2012
Baldwin co-starred in the hit romantic comedyIt's Complicated (2009) withMeryl Streep andSteve Martin. Together Streep and Baldwin received positive reviews for their on-screen chemistry. Manohla Dargis ofThe New York Times wrote, "Mr. Baldwin does with Jake, who, with his shark smiles and thrusting gut, beautifully conveys male vanity in its twilight".[46] Kirk Honeycut ofThe Associated Press wrote, "Baldwin has developed a second career in films and television by more or less spoofing his macho image".[47] Baldwin went on to receive a nomination for theBAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. That same year, Baldwin co-hosted the82nd Academy Awards withSteve Martin in 2010.[48]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."[49]
He has hostedSaturday Night Live 17 times as of February 11, 2017[update], and holds the record for most times hosting the show.[50] On October 24, 2011,WNYC public radio released the first episode of Baldwin's podcastHere's the Thing, a series of interviews with public figures including artists, policy-makers, and performers. The first two episodes featured actorMichael Douglas and political consultantEd Rollins.[51] Between 2011 and 2020, Baldwin completed more than 150 interviews, with guests who included musicianWynton Marsalis, filmmakerEdward Norton, comedianDavid Letterman, violinistItzhak Perlman, and pianistLang Lang, among many others.[52]Here's the Thing was developed for Baldwin by Lu Olkowski, Trey Kay, Kathy Russo, and Emily Botein.[53] On February 4, 2012, he hosted the2011 NFL Honors awards show.[54] He later hostedthe second show on February 2, 2013.[55]
Baldwin returned to Broadway as Harold inOrphans. The show, which opened April 18, 2013, was also to have starredShia LaBeouf as Treat,[56] but LaBeouf left the production in rehearsals and was replaced byBen Foster.[57][58] Marilyn Stasio ofVariety described Baldwin's performance as being "executed with humor and compassion".[59] That same year Baldwin briefly hostedUp Late with Alec Baldwin onMSNBC.[60] 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".[61][62][63] Baldwin denied that he used the word "fag", and later cited this incident as a major turning point in his public life.[64] Beginning in 2010, Baldwin appeared in a television campaign forCapital One as their spokesperson.[65] Following the 2013 confrontation with a videographer, his contract was not renewed,[66] and he was succeeded in the campaign byJennifer Garner.[67][68]
In 2017, he took over as sole host ofTCM'sThe 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 withABC Studios.[72] His 2017 memoirNevertheless debuted at No. 5 onThe New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-seller list.[73] On March 3, 2018, following the broadcast of the90th Academy Awards, ABC broadcast a preview episode of the talk showThe Alec Baldwin Show, at the time calledSundays With Alec Baldwin, scheduled to formally debut with a nine-episode order that fall.[74][75] On August 27, 2018, it was announced that Baldwin would join the cast forJoker, playingThomas Wayne, father ofBruce Wayne.[76] Later, on August 29, 2018, Baldwin withdrew from the role.[77][78] That same year, Baldwin made cameo appearances inSpike Lee's historical dramaBlacKkKlansman andBradley Cooper's musical dramaA Star Is Born as Dr. Kennebrew Beaureguard and himself, respectively.[79][80] That same year, he guest-starred asGeorge Tenet in theHulu miniseriesThe Looming Tower.[81]
Baldwin and his mother Carol created the Carol M. Baldwin Cancer Research Fund in 1996, and dedicated the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center at theStony Brook University Hospital in her honor.[91][92] During his 2010–2013 stint as a spokesperson forCapital 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.[66]
In March 2011, Baldwin donated $1 million to theNew York Philharmonic (on whose board he served), and $500,000 to theRoundabout Theatre Company, where he has performed plays in New York.[93] In recent years, his foundation has donated bookstore gift certificates to Long Island libraries to support literacy programs.[94]
In 1990, Baldwin met actressKim Basinger when they played lovers in the filmThe Marrying Man.[95] They married on August 19, 1993, and had a daughter,Ireland (born October 23, 1995).[98][99] Theyseparated on December 5, 2000[95] anddivorced on September 3, 2002.[100] Baldwin has called the attorneys in the case "opportunists", and characterized Basinger's psychologists as part of the "divorce industry". In his memoir, he blamed them more than Basinger, writing, "She is a person, like many of us, doing the best she can with what she has."[101]
In his memoir, Baldwin stated that these issues placed stress on his relationship with his daughter. Baldwin wrote that he had to spend over a million dollars,[102] put time aside from his career,[103] travel extensively,[104] and find a house inCalifornia, having previously lived inNew York,[105] in order to stay in his daughter's life.[106]
On April 11, 2007, he left a voicemail message in response to an unanswered arranged call, in which he called his 11-year-old daughter a "rude, thoughtless little pig". The tape was sold toTMZ, which published the recording despite laws against publishing media related to a minor without the permission of both parents.[107] Baldwin described the incident as a mistake that did not make him a bad parent.[108] During an interview withPlayboy in June 2009, he stated that hecontemplated suicide after the voicemail leaked to the public but sought professional help. He stated that he felt Basinger would have considered it "a victory" if he committed suicide and that it was her "avowed goal" to destroy him.[109]
In late 2008, Baldwin toured in support of his book on fatherhood and divorce.[110][111][112][113]
In May 2023, Baldwin became a grandfather when Ireland had a baby girl with musician RAC (André Allen Anjos).[114]
Baldwin and Hilaria Thomas (center right) at the2011 US Open, Opening Day
On October 21, 2021, Baldwin was filming on the set of the then-upcoming filmRust, of which he was also a producer, at theBonanza Creek Ranch inSanta Fe, New Mexico, when he discharged a gun being used as aprop, killingcinematographerHalyna Hutchins and injuring directorJoel Souza. The Hutchins family filed awrongful death suit against Baldwin for his part in the fatal shooting.[128] On October 5, 2022, Baldwin reached an undisclosed settlement with Hutchins' family in their wrongful death lawsuit.[129] In March 2024, court documents were filed indicating the producers ofRust (including Baldwin) were nine months late in paying agreed settlement fees to the widower and son of Halyna Hutchins.[130] As of November 2024, one of the two payments had been made.[131]
Baldwin was charged with two counts ofinvoluntary manslaughter on January 31, 2023.[132] The elevated second charge was eventually dropped after his lawyers argued that he was beingincorrectly charged with a version of the law that was not passed until months after the shooting.[133] On February 23, he pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.[134] In April, lawyers for Baldwin announced that the criminal charges against him had been dropped by prosecutors.[135][136][137] On October 17, 2023, New Mexico special prosecutors announced that their findings indicated that Baldwin may be guilty of involuntary manslaughter.[138]
In January 2024, a grand jury indicted Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge. The indictment provided prosecutors with two options for pursuing this charge: one based on negligent use of a firearm, and the other for felony misconduct "with the total disregard or indifference for the safety of others."[139][140] On May 24, Santa Fe-based Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer denied a motion which was filed by Baldwin to dismiss his trial, thus clearing the way for the trial to begin.[141][142] Baldwin's trial began in Santa Fe on July 9.[143] On July 12, Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin withprejudice because theprosecution had withheld evidence from the defense.[144][145] Sommer found that "Santa Fe County Sheriff's officer made the decision – and apparently also with the prosecutor ... that the evidence was of no evidentiary value and failed to connect the evidence to the case", such that the "willful withholding of this information was intentional and deliberate", and if not done in bad faith, came so close to bad faith as to display "signs of scorching prejudice".[146][147] On October 25, Judge Sommer upheld her dismissal.[148]
In January 2025, Baldwin filed a civil rights suit against officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico, alleging that he was wrongfully prosecuted for manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins.[149] The Court dismissed the lawsuit in July 2025 because Baldwin and his lawyers had not taken steps to move the case forward.[150]
A documentary directed byRory Kennedy,The Trial of Alec Baldwin, which follows Baldwin, the case, and trial, had its world premiere atDOC NYC in November 2025.[151] Kennedy stated in anaffidavit, Baldwin did not approach or commission the project, nor did he have creative or editorial control.[152] Kennedy was denied access to the production ofRust as producers felt Baldwin was pursuing the project in order to "exonerate" himself, with directorJoel Souza declining to sit for an interview.[153][154]
Political views
Baldwin is aDemocrat and endorsedBarack Obama in his two presidential campaigns.[155][156] He serves on the board ofPeople for the American Way. He is ananimal rights activist and a staunch supporter ofPETA,[157] for which he has done work that includes narrating the video entitledMeet Your Meat.[158] Baldwin lent his support to theSave the Manatee Club 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 ofThe Simpsons in which he was the voice of a biologist working to save the endangered mammals.[159] Baldwin also gave his support forFarm 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..."[160]
During his appearance on the comedy late night showLate Night with Conan O'Brien on December 11, 1998, eight days before PresidentBill Clinton was to beimpeached, Baldwin gave a staged rant, meant as satire, "If we were in another country ... we would stoneHenry Hyde to death and we would go to their homes and kill their wives and their children. We would kill their families, for what they're doing to this country." At the end of his rant, O'Brien pulled out an oxygen mask and put it over Baldwin's mouth to calm Baldwin down.[164] Baldwin later apologized to Hyde for any misunderstanding, and the network explained that it was meant as a joke and promised not to re-run it.[165][166]
Baldwin said in a 2006 interview withThe New York Times that if he did become involved in electoral politics, he would prefer to run forGovernor of New York. When asked if he was qualified for the office, Baldwin responded that he considered himself more qualified than California GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger.[167] 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 on30 Rock.[168] 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."[169][170]
In February 2009, Baldwin spoke out to encourage state leaders to renew New York'stax 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".[171]
^Baldwin inLovece, Frank (November 23, 2012)."Alec Baldwin pitches in for Long Island after Sandy".Newsday. Long Island. Archived fromthe original on October 26, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 1, 2015.in the very neighborhood I grew up in, Nassau Shores.... When I was a little kid, until about '69, we lived on Greatwater Avenue, and then we moved a little north of there...
^Gilbert, Matthew (March 8, 2010). "A silly, somber, and intimate night: The 82nd Academy Awards".The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. p. G14.
^"Here's The Thing Podcast".Here's the Thing Podcast – on Apple Podcasts. January 26, 2020. Archived fromthe original on October 26, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2020.
^Baker, Brent H. (December 16, 1998)."Stone Henry Hyde to Death!".CyberAlert. Media Research Center. Archived fromthe original on January 14, 2011. RetrievedMarch 3, 2011.
