An actor's life: Alec Baldwin talks film, family and Orlando in Toronto
CBC News | Posted: June 14, 2016 10:05 PM | Last Updated: June 15, 2016
'The No. 1 thing is that I'm a dad'
From regularly popping up on Saturday Night Live to tackling wide-ranging movie roles, Alec Baldwin is a busy guy.
Indelible as 30 Rock's Jack Donaghy, an Oscar contender for The Cooler and a Tony nominee for a Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, Baldwin has had a full and interesting performance career.
But he doesn't consider acting his first commitment. "The No. 1 thing is that I'm a dad," he told CBC News.
The award-winning New Yorker made the comment in Toronto on Tuesday night where he was discussing his work as part of the Toronto International Film Festival's Summer Soirée fundraiser.
Baldwin and his wife, Hilaria, are expecting their third child together this fall. Baldwin is also father to Ireland, whom he had with ex-wife Kim Basinger.
While on the red carpet, Baldwin briefly touched on the shootings in Orlando, which killed 49 and wounded dozens more.
"I really don't have a comment about Orlando, because I feel like, what's there left to say now ... it's just something you can't say in a sound bite on an entertainment television show," Baldwin told CBC News.
"There's some things they should be doing [in the United States] that are very simple common sense things, and I'm sorry to say I'm not quite sure they're ready to make those changes there."
Storied career
An Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award winner for now-ended TV comedy 30 Rock, Baldwin recently joined daytime host Kelly Ripa as a guest host on her morning talk show Live and will be seen later this month in TV's revival of Match Game.
For decades, the 58-year-old has occasionally appeared in Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, as well as in regional theatre. For the past five years, the outspoken Baldwin has also hosted the American public radio podcast Here's the Thing, which features the actor in conversation with artists, policy makers and performers.
He's best known, however, for memorable roles in films ranging from Beetlejuice to The Departed, Glengarry Glen Ross to The Royal Tenenbaums. More recent credits include Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Concussion, with upcoming movies to include Downsizing and Boss Baby.
"I started out as an actor, where you seek to understand yourself using the words of great writers and collaborating with other creative people. Then I slid into show business, where you seek only an audience's approval, whether you deserve it or not. I think I want to go back to being an actor now," Baldwin said in a 2014 article in New York magazine.