Alec Baldwin Movies
Equally at home playing leads and character roles, actor Alec Baldwin is known for his work in just about every genre, from action thrillers to comedies to dramas. Born April 3, 1958, in Massapequa, Long Island, he was the second of six children (brothers William, Daniel, and Stephen would also become actors). Baldwin was a political science major at George Washington University before he decided to become an actor; following his change in vocation, he studied drama at NYU and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.Early in his career, Baldwin was a busy man, simultaneously playing a role on the TV daytime drama The Doctors and performing in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on-stage in the evenings. A few years after making his 1980 Broadway debut, the actor moved to Los Angeles, where he landed a part in the television series Knots Landing. He made his film debut in 1987 with a starring role in Forever, Lulu, which led to work in a number of major films. From 1988 to 1989 alone, Baldwin appeared in no less than seven films, including Tim Burton's black comedy Beetlejuice, Mike Nichols' Working Girl, Jonathan Demme's Married to the Mob, and Oliver Stone's Talk Radio.
In 1990, Baldwin achieved big-budget success playing ace CIA agent Jack Ryan in the undersea thriller The Hunt for Red October. The film's popularity won him acclaim, so Baldwin surprised many by foregoing the opportunity to reprise his role in the sequel Patriot Games (he was replaced by Harrison Ford) in favor of returning to Broadway to star as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. Although his decision paid off -- he received a Tony nomination for his performance -- it also marked the point at which Baldwin's star wattage began to flicker. His 1991 film, The Marrying Man proved to be an all-out flop (although it did provide him an introduction to co-star Kim Basinger, whom he would marry in 1993), and the critical success of his next two films, Prelude to a Kiss and Glengarry Glen Ross was overshadowed by a subsequent string of flops, including Malice (1993), The Getaway (1994), and The Juror (1996).
The actor rebounded a bit with his role in Al Pacino's acclaimed documentary Looking for Richard (1996) but then had the unfortunate luck of starring in the 1998 Bruce Willis disaster Mercury Rising. However, the following year proved more fortuitous for Baldwin, as he starred in the coming-of-age comedy Outside Providence, as well as in the crime drama Thick As Thieves and the ethical drama The Confession, appearing alongside Amy Irving and Ben Kingsley. In addition, the actor made an uncredited appearance in Notting Hill, sending up his macho Hollywood persona as Julia Roberts' piggish actor boyfriend.
Baldwin started off the 2000s by re-teaming with David Mamet on the Hollywood satire State and Main as a lecherous leading man with a weakness for underage girls. He provided narration for Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, and was one of the few people to escape unscathed from Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor.
Although he continued to make headlines because of his politics, as well as his ongoing legal scuffles with now ex-wife Kim Basinger, Baldwin continued to do strong work in the comedies Along Came Polly (2004) and Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), and scored his first-ever Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor playing a menacing casino manager in 2003's The Cooler. He became a part of Martin Scorsese's stock company playing Juan Trippe in 2004's The Aviator, following it up as a federal agent in love with the Patriot Act in 2006's The Departed.
Baldwin's longstanding association with the venerable sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (he has hosted over ten times) paid great dividends when he was hired to play the part of the boss on former SNL head writer Tina Fey's fall 2006 sitcom 30 Rock. He earned universal raves for his work on the show, and captured the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a comedy television series during the program's inaugural season. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Per its title, the documentary series Test Pilots discusses the lives, roles and accomplishments of the men and women in America who test-fly state-of-the-art aircraft, putting their safety on the line as they push the vehicles to undreamt-of extremes. The volume in this series entitled Spin Doctor visits United States Navy Test Pilot Rob Niewhoner, who climbs into a 50,000 pound F/A-18 Super Hornet, rockets into the sky, and deliberately forces the vehicle into a state of "spin control" - forcing it beyond the boundaries of human control to determine if it can be safely recovered. Alec Baldwin (Married to the Mob) narrates. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin
- 1999
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Per its title, the documentary series Test Pilots discusses the lives, roles and accomplishments of the men and women in America who test-fly state-of-the-art aircraft, putting their safety on the line as they push the vehicles to undreamt-of extremes. The jargon in the title of this particular episode will be familiar to many from Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff; "pushing the envelope" (or "pushing the edge of the envelope") refers to forcing the vehicle to speeds historically undocumented by jet pilots, despite the exponential increase in risk that accompanies this. The program witnesses Steve Rainey undergoing this process via a battery of tests in an F-22 Fighter Jet. Alec Baldwin (The Shadow) narrates. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
In this action-suspense thriller, orphaned nine-year-old autistic savant Simon (Miko Hughes) deciphers a government code hidden in a puzzle magazine. Calling for his prize, Simon triggers an alarm at the National Security Agency: NSA chief Nicholas Kudrow (Alec Baldwin), who says the code protects covert American operatives all over the world, sends an assassin to do away with Simon. Simon's parents are killed, but Simon survives, hiding in a secret closet crawlspace where he's later discovered by maverick FBI agent Art Jeffries (Bruce Willis). Simon is emotionally unpredictable, complicating matters as Art drags him all over Chicago, eluding Kudrow's hitman in a variety of interesting locations (train tracks, street scenes, heliport, Wrigley building) and improbable situations. Based on the novel Simple Simon by Ryne Douglas Peardon, the film features Industrial Light & Magic special FX/animation. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, (more)
- 1998
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Alec Baldwin narrated this collection of seven short animated stories starring everyone's favorite railroader, Thomas the Tank Engine. In these stories, Thomas and his friends have to pull together after a variety of crashes, derailments, and other close scrapes. Stories featured are "Toby and the Flood," "Put Upon Percy," "Horrid Lorry," "By George!," "Something's in the Air," "Oliver's Find," and "Accidents Will Happen." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1998
The question of journalistic ethics is brought into play when the wife of a prominent New Yorker is murdered. The victim's husband blames the killing on a gossip columnist working for a widely circulated checkout-stand tabloid. In pursuing the case in tandem, the detectives and the lawyers again find themselves in the position of setting a precedent that may have long-range repercussions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This 1998 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Alec Baldwin and features musical guest Luciano Pavarotti. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Luciano Pavarotti, (more)
Billionaire Charles Morse (Anthony Hopkins) accompanies his much-younger wife Mickey (Elle Macpherson) and a fashion photography team headed by Bob Green (Alec Baldwin) to a remote lodge in Alaska. Charles is a quiet, introspective man, fond of accumulating trivia and other facts in his encyclopedic mind; he is also troubled with the idea that Bob and Mickey may be lovers. Even though he suspects the younger man plans to kill him, Charles goes with Bob and his assistant Stephen (Harold Perrineau) on an airplane trip to find a photogenic friend (Gordon Tootoosis) of the lodge owner (L.Q. Jones), but the plane crashes in a lake, killing the pilot. The crash is miles from their planned path, so they can't expect to be spotted by an aerial search; there's only one chance: they have to walk to a more likely spot.Though Robert and Stephan are more physically fit, Charles' calm wit and ingenuity proves the key to their survival, especially after a ferocious bear brutally kills Stephen. Robert and Charles' odyssey becomes more urgent when they discover that the bear is now stalking them. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, (more)
- 1997
This 1997 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Alec Baldwin and features musical guest Tina Turner. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Tina Turner, (more)
A woman serving on the jury of an anti-Mafia trial must protect herself and her young son from a psychopathic gangster in this thriller. Demi Moore stars as Annie Laird, a single mother and artist who readily agrees to do her civic duty on the jury in the trial of a major organized crime figure. She quickly comes to regret this decision when a mysterious and eccentric Mafia associate known as The Teacher (Alec Baldwin) threatens to kidnap her son and harm her friends unless she promises to vote not guilty. Fearing for their lives, she plays along, but unfortunately the Teacher shows no sign of backing away from his plans, having become personally obsessed with Annie. Unwilling to trust the authorities, Annie instead develops a plan to save her child by taking on the Teacher and the mob. Adapting a novel by George Dawes Green, the screenplay was written by Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs). ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, (more)
- 1996
- PG13
A workshop of William Shakespeare's Richard III inspires actor-director Al Pacino's breezy documentary, which aims to make the playwright accessible to contemporary American audiences. Though a noteworthy cast of stage actors and Hollywood stars (including Kevin Spacey, Winona Ryder, and Alec Baldwin) gathers to work on the play, Looking for Richard does not present a straightforward filmed version of the scheming, deformed king's rise and fall. Instead, Pacino turns the cameras on the rehearsal process and his own exploration of Shakespeare's history and meaning. Scenes in full costume alternate with readings in street clothes, while interviews gather the opinions on the Bard of everyone from renowned scholars and Shakespearean actors to random New Yorkers. A trip to England allows brief visits to Shakespeare's birthplace and the Globe Theater, but Pacino's focus remains on the United States and his desire to prove that American actors can act the plays without mimicking their British counterparts. Clearly a labor of love for Pacino, the film benefits from his passionate persona and direct, no-nonsense attitude; while the performances may vary in quality, the film manifests a refreshingly casual, unpretentious, and enthusiastic approach to Shakespeare. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Harris Yulin, (more)
This is a long-awaited film telling the story of the trials of Medgar Evers' killer. Medger Evers (James Pickens, Jr.) was a black civil-rights activist in Mississippi who was shot to death in 1963. Despite very persuasive evidence that Byron De La Beckwith (James Woods) was indeed his killer, the all-white juries hearing his case at that time acquitted him (he was tried twice). In this film, with the aid of Ever's widow Myrlie (Whoopie Goldberg), Bobby DeLaughter (Alec Baldwin), a young lawyer, gathers enough new evidence to bring Beckwith in for a third trial. Woods' performance as a wise-cracking bigot is one of the film's highlights. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
- 1996
This 1996 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Alec Baldwin and features musical guest Tori Amos. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Tori Amos, (more)
An ex-cop trying to stay away from trouble finds it literally crashing into his backyard in this crime thriller. Dave Robicheaux (Alec Baldwin) is a former New Orleans police detective who, after kicking an addiction to alcohol and confronting some serious problems with his partners, has left law enforcement behind to run a bait shop in a small Louisiana bayou town. One day, Dave and his wife Annie (Kelly Lynch) see a small plane plummet from the sky and crash into the swamp; the pilot dies, but Dave is able to rescue a young Hispanic girl from the wreckage. Dave and Annie take the child in, but as they try to find out more about the plane crash and who the little girl might be, they discover that she's actually an illegal alien from Salvador and that the pilot was involved with a local drug ring. Dave, constitutionally unable to let a mystery go unsolved, begins asking enough questions and making enough trouble that he finds himself on the bad side of his old High School friend Bubba Rocque (Eric Roberts). Bubba is a local crime boss who controls the area's drug traffic, keeps a boxing ring in his front yard, and has a wife Claudette (Teri Hatcher) who enjoys greeting her guests naked. Dave's inquiries eventually become too much for Bubba and his henchmen, and in the midst of a violent raid on their home, Annie is killed. Dave becomes obsessed with bringing Bubba and his men to justice and gets some unexpected help from Robin Gaddis (Mary Stuart Masterson), an exotic dancer with a heart of gold. While it was originally scheduled for release in 1994, Heaven's Prisoners didn't arrive on theater screens until two years later, by which time Teri Hatcher had risen to stardom on the TV series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, (more)
- 1995
This production presents the complete text of A Streetcar Named Desire, the 1947 Tennessee Williams masterpiece. The story centers on the destruction of a lonely Mississippi widow, Blanche DuBois (Jessica Lange), by her brutally outspoken brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski (Alec Baldwin). The play begins when Blanche arrives in New Orleans from Laurel, Mississippi, at the squalid apartment of her pregnant sister, Stella, and Stella's husband, Kowalski. After announcing that she is on leave from a teaching position, Blanche discloses that creditors have expropriated the family estate, Belle Reve. Consequently, sister Stella will never receive a penny of her share in the property. Skeptical, Stanley angrily demands documented proof of the property loss. Blanche provides it. The lingering animosity from this incident then builds relentlessly over several months. To protect herself from Stanley and his crude working-class world, Blanche cocoons herself in a delusional world of Old South ideals. She is ever the aristocratic belle. Truculent Stanley, however, seizes every opportunity to bullyrag dainty Blanche. He despises her elegant ways, her put-on airs. In turn, she shudders at his rudeness and vulgarity. But deep in her lonely soul--deep in the instinctual id that drove her to promiscuity in Laurel--she harbors a perverse attraction for Stanley. Her mental state, meanwhile, verges on insanity; one day her prince will come, an Old South cavalier with a gleaming sword. When Stanley's friend Mitch woos her, Stanley sabotages the romance after digging into Blanche's past and tattling to Mitch about her affairs. Stella goes into labor and gives birth. When proud papa Stanley returns from the hospital, Blanche is swilling liquor. Stanley gulps a few and rapes Blanche. She then steps across the border between the real and the unreal as the play draws to a conclusion. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Lange, Alec Baldwin, (more)
- 1995
Directed by the acclaimed Walter Hill and narrated by actor Alec Baldwin, this documentary profiles the adventurous, contentious, and very talented director William Wellman (1896-1975). Ambulance driver for the French Foreign Legion and decorated American pilot in World War I, Wellman later became a barnstorming stunt pilot, but found his true calling directing such classic Hollywood films as Wings, Public Enemy, A Star Is Born, Beau Geste, The Ox-Bow Incident, and The High and the Mighty. Highlights include clips from his movies and interviews with or clips featuring Clint Eastwood, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Scorsese, Mike Connors, Nancy Davis, James Garner, Darryl Hickman, Arthur Hiller, Tab Hunter, Richard Widmark, Robert Wise, Jane Wyman, and others. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin
This nostalgic drama is based upon the childhood memories of screenwriter Joseph Stefano. Set in South Philadelphia in 1933 it centers on both a wise grandfather, and his single-minded grandson. The film opens in a garden on a beautiful day. In the garden is the Italian grandpa telling anyone who will listen that this is his final day of life. No one really believes that, especially not 12-year-old Gennaro who is more interested in finding a quarter so he can go to the grand opening of the brand new La Paloma theater. The grandfather promises the boy that he will receive the money after he dies. The child doesn't believe this and so begins his own search for two bits. Along the way he has many adventures. Towards the end, the grandfather asks the boy to deliver a message to a woman he wronged many years before. He wants her forgiveness before he dies. In the end, Gennaro learns a valuable lesson about life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Barone, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, (more)
- 1994
This 1994 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger and features musical guest UB40. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, (more)
- 1994
This 1994 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Alec Baldwin and features musical guest Beastie Boys. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Beastie Boys, (more)
A crime fighter created in the 1930s and popularized in movies, pulp novels, and a radio show starring a young Orson Welles, The Shadow came back to life in 1994 in this slick, well-cast production. Alec Baldwin stars as Lamont Cranston, a murderous opium dealer reformed by a Tibetan mystic, who teaches him how to use his keen mental powers to manipulate others. As penance for his past misdeeds, Cranston masquerades as a degenerate New York City playboy by day and secretly plays the heroic Shadow by night, staving off evildoers with a network of agents and a cab-driving sidekick (Peter Boyle). A greater challenge arrives when Cranston must fight Shiwan Khan (John Lone), the final descendent of Genghis Khan, who has received training from the same Tibetan master who instructed Cranston. Shiwan plans to use atomic weapons to take over New York and then the world. At the same time, Cranston meets socialite Margo Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), and, although he's instantly enamored of her, he discovers that her psychic abilities render his secret identity vulnerable. The Shadow was directed by former music video creator Russell Mulcahy, whose feature film debut Highlander (1986) was a cult classic. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, John Lone, (more)
The Getaway, a remake of Sam Peckinpah's excellent escape thriller of the same name, adapted from a story by Jim Thompson, is the story of ill-fated romance on the run. Doc McCoy (Alec Baldwin) is released from a Mexican prison with the help of gangster Jack Benyon (James Woods) who wants Doc's help in the hold-up of a racetrack. With the help of Doc's wife Carol (Kim Basinger), and Jack's thugs Rudy (Michael Madsen) and Frank (Philip Hoffman), the robbery is successful, but a guard is murdered. Doc also finds out that Carol has had an affair with Benyon. Carol shoots Benyon and the two flee for Mexico and freedom. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, (more)
- 1993
This 1993 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Alec Baldwin and features musical guest Paul McCartney. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Paul McCartney, (more)
- 1993
Though Larry (Garry Shandling) is slowly being pulled out of depression by spending more time with Francine (Kathryn Harrold), his suspicions concerning her sexual history make the eccentric talk show host a bit hesitant to rekindle the old flame. After making a passing reference to her sex life since their divorce, Larry requests that Francine provide a detailed list of her sexual partners since they parted ways. Guest stars include Alec Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin, and Ed Begley Jr. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Alec Baldwin stars in this thriller as Dr. Jed Hill, a brilliant young trauma specialist who begins to believe he can do no wrong after he saves the life of a patient given up for dead by another doctor. Jed runs into an old classmate, Andy Safian (Bill Pullman), who is now a college dean. Andy invites Jed to stay with him in the attic bedroom of a house he is renovating with his wife Tracy (Nicole Kidman). Tracy takes a dislike to Jed, whom she thinks is a psychotic egomaniac. In the mean time, Andy has to deal with a serial killer on the loose among the campus dorms. While Andy is helping belligerent law enforcement officials with the murder investigation and Jed is drinking straight shots at the local saloon, Tracy begins to have abdominal pains and is rushed to the emergency room. Jed comes directly from the bar and slices her open, removing more from her body cavity than he should. The allegations fly fast and furious between Tracy, Andy, and Jed. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, (more)
David Mamet's award-winning play about a group of desperate real estate agents comes to the big screen from director James Foley. In a role created specifically for the movie, Alec Baldwin appears as a sales motivator, informing the group of hard-luck salesmen that they must compete in a sales contest where the losers will be fired. The agents work their same tired leads, until one hatches a scheme to burglarize the office, steal the leads, and sell them to a rival. Featuring a cast that includes Al Pacino as the office's sales leader, Jack Lemmon as an elderly loser, Alan Arkin and Ed Harris as frustrated salesmen, Kevin Spacey as the harassed office manager, and Jonathan Pryce as a client, Glengarry Glen Ross is, at its core, a character study about a group of men whose time has passed. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, (more)
In this quirky romantic comedy about soul transference, Alec Baldwin plays Peter Hoskins, the straight-laced head of the microfiche department at a company that publishes scientific journals. When he meets a free-spirited, sleep-deprived bartender named Rita (Meg Ryan), the opposites attract and launch into a round-the-clock romance characterized by private jokes and an intense connection that defies description. When the two decide to marry, however, an unforeseeable cosmic occurrence entirely alters the nature of their relationship. Those who claim that marriage changes a person couldn't be more right in this case, as a confused old man (Sydney Walker) wanders into the wedding reception and plants a single kiss on the lips of the new bride. Longing for the youthfulness he sees in the happy couple, the man inadvertently causes the two to switch bodies during the smooch. Thinking no one will believe the story, Rita (now hidden inside a cancer-ridden octogenarian) leaves the premises before causing any more of a stir, while the old man in Rita's body is whisked off with Peter on their honeymoon before anyone is the wiser. Soon, Peter begins noticing that his new bride is an entirely different person, but can't figure out why -- and wonders if it's just a natural dose of cold feet. When he can no longer ignore the total dissimilarity, Peter begins suspecting that something supernatural has occurred, and wondering how he can restore his wife to her former self, especially when her body's new occupant resists the effort and goes on the lam. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Meg Ryan, (more)
