Alec Baldwin Biography

Alec Baldwin played Jack Donaghy, the craven and yet strangely likable TV network exec, on the hit TV series 30 Rock. He has also been the star of films ranging from the action classic The Hunt for Red October (1990) to the drama The Cooler (2003).

Alec Baldwin started his career on the stage but soon moved to the screen when he was cast in the series The Doctors in 1980. He has since appeared in dozens of feature films, including Beetlejuice (1988, with Michael Keaton), Miami Blues (1990) and Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), and he did voice work for 2001’s Final Fantasy. Overall, his filmography is a mixed bag that includes broad comedy such as the blockbuster The Cat in the Hat (2003, starring Mike Myers) and dramas such as The Cooler (which earned him an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor).

In 1992, Baldwin was nominated for a Tony award for his Broadway performances of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Baldwin is an outspoken activist for the environment and animal rights, and was married to actress Kim Basinger from 1993 to 2001.

His other films include The Hunt for Red October (with Sean Connery), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992, with Kevin Spacey), The Getaway (1994), The Edge (1997, with Anthony Hopkins) and the Martin Scorsese films The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006).

In 2006 he joined the cast of the TV comedy 30 Rock; his nutty character and on-screen sparring sessions with Tina Fey were a fast success and are often credited with rejuvenating his career.

A frequent host of Saturday Night Live, Baldwin was especially popular in 2016 and 2017 for his impersonation of Donald Trump.

In October of 2021 Baldwin was filming on the set of Rust, a movie he was also producing. While filming a scene, the gun Baldwin was holding discharged live ammo and killed the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. In January of 2024 Baldwin was indicted on the charge of involuntary manslaughter, with a trial date set for July of that year.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film’s set who was responsible for weapons, was convicted in March of 2024 of involuntary manslaughter — she was deemed responsible for bringing live ammo to the set.