Date of Birth: April 3, 1958
Place of Birth: Amityville, NY, USA
Sign: Sun in Aries, Moon in Libra
Relations: Wife: Kim Basinger; kid: Ireland; brothers: Stephen, William, and Daniel (all actors)
Education: George Washington University; New York University; Lee Strasburg Institute, New York
THE MOST FAMOUS of the Baldwin brothers and the first to be in the movies, Alec Baldwin is a man of various talents.
For those of you who don’t know him, remember this: He’s the one who preceded Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan in the Hunt For Red October.
Born in Massapequa, New York, Alec learned the word "destiny" at an early age. On a report card, his third-grade teacher predicted he would become either President of the United States or famous in some other way. There's a chance he could still be proven right on both grounds.
Alec is very politically active and was rumored to have intended to nominate himself for the presidency 2000 campaigns. He is a devout democrat.
Alec also donates time and money to the Hudson River keeper of Garrison, New York and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
During his childhood, Alec became a movie fiend, starring in a home version of Frankenstein at age 7 and regularly going to art-house movies (Capra, Truffaut) by his teens.
As an undergraduate at George Washington University, Baldwin studied political science, with the intention of eventually going to law school. One year shy of graduation, however, he became fed up with the politics of politics and decided to give acting a shot. Moving to Manhattan, Alec enrolled in New York University's theatre department, where he studied with the legendary Lee Strasburg.
Before he could graduate from NYU, Baldwin had landed a role on the popular soap opera The Doctors, which in turn led to a slew of other television roles, most of them not very memorable at best. It wasn't until Knots Landing, the famous soap, that Alec became noticed by the American public.
Despite his success on television, theater remained Baldwin's first love, and he returned to New York in 1985 to make his Broadway debut in Joe Orton's acclaimed comedy Loot. He became a well-known figure in the theatre world, appearing in numerous Broadway off-Broadway and regional productions, including David Mamet's A Life in the Theatre and Caryl Churchill's Serious Money. Before Prelude to a Kiss made the trip to Broadway, Alec starred as Peter, the role later made famous by Timothy Hutton (but reclaimed by Baldwin for the film version).
Baldwin continues to use his celebrity to support live theatre: he is a benefactor of both the Bay Street Theatre Festival in Sag Harbo, and the Circle Rep Theatre in New York. He sits on the board of directors of a wide variety of charities and groups, including The Creative Coalition, People for the American Way, City Center of New York and The Drama League of New York. One might think that, with all his awards and nominations, Baldwin would be a man content with his skills, but in 1993, he returned to NYU to complete his degree. He's probably the only Tisch School alum who received a Tony nomination before his BFA.
Currently, Baldwin is happily married to award winning actress Kim Basinger. The couple live in East Hampton, New York. They have a four-year old daughter, Ireland Eliesse. Baldwin holds his private life very sacred and maintains its privacy with ferocity.
Movies:
2001 Final Fantasy: The Movie
2000 State and Maine
2000 Thomas and the Magic Railroad
1999 Scout's Honor
1999 The Confession
1999 Notting Hill (no credit)
1999 Outside Providence
1999 Thick as Thieves
1998 Mercury Rising
1997 The Edge
1996 Looking for Richard
1996 Heaven's Prisoners
1996 The Juror
1996 Ghosts of Mississippi
1996 Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick
1995 Two Bits (voice) (no credit)
1994 The Shadow
1994 The Getaway
1993 Malice
1992 Glengarry Glen Ross
1992 Prelude to a Kiss
1991 The Marrying Man
1990 The Hunt for Red October
1990 Alice
1990 Miami Blues
1989 Tong Tana
1989 Great Balls of Fire!
1988 Married to the Mob
1988 Beetlejuice
1988 She's Having a Baby
1988 Talk Radio
1988 Working Girl
1987 Forever, Lulu
TV
2000 Nuremberg
1995 A Streetcar Named Desire
1987 The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory
1986 Dress Gray
1985 Love on the Run
1985 Sweet Revenge
1979 Knots Landing
1983 Cutter to Houston
1980 The Doctors
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
