Esteemed actor, producer and comedianAlec Baldwinhas crafted an extensive and impressive Hollywood repertoire on both the big and small screen. The eldest son of the Baldwin family, a prominent group of performers, Alec has made a name for himself with starring roles in popular films likeGlengarry Glen Ross,as Jack Ryan inThe Hunt for Red October,and in the animated hitThe Boss Baby.The actor has worked with some of the most revered directors in the entertainment industry, such as the great Martin Scorsese inThe Departed,Woody Allen inBlue Jasmineand of course Tim Burton in the aforementioned beloved classicBeetlejuice.
Outside the silver screen, Baldwin won two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes for his portrayal of Jack Donaghy in one ofthe best sitcoms of the 2000s,30 Rock,and earned critical acclaim for his scathing portrayal of Donald Trump onSaturday Night Live,also nabbing an Emmy. The performermade headlines in 2021when he discharged a gun being used as a prop on the set ofRust,tragically killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins; as a result of the shocking and deadly incident, production was suspended indefinitely with a lawsuit pending. After stepping away to process the experience, Baldwin is set to appear in the upcoming disaster filmSupercell.These are some of the best Alec Baldwin Movies.
9Framing John DeLorean
Chronicling the exceptional career and life story of famed engineer, inventor and auto-industry tycoon John DeLorean, the 2019hybrid documentary filmFraming John DeLoreandelves into the trailblazer’s crusade to create the world’s greatest sports car. In the revealing and fascinating picture, Alec Baldwin stars as DeLorean during reenactments of pivotal moments in his life, in his ascent to becoming the youngest division head in General Motors history and the tumultuous formation of the DeLorean Motor Company.
The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, garnering rave reviews by critics who praised the intimate look at the controversial engineer as well as Baldwin’s spot-on performance of DeLorean;Varietywrote: “An absorbing documentary, with Alec Baldwin popping up in dramatic reenactments, adds new insight to the inspiring and scandalous saga of John DeLorean, the auto magnate who got too high on his dream.”
8The Boss Baby
DreamWorks’ 2017 animated comedyThe Boss Babyis a fun and entertaining flick that features the voice of Alec Baldwin as Theodore “Ted” Templeton Jr., the titular character who despite being an infant has the mind of an adult and is a spy on a secret mission sent by Baby Corp; the intelligent infant must join forces with his 7-year-old brother to win the ongoing war between babies and puppies.
Loosely based on the Marla Frazee picture book, the film was directed by Tom McGrath, who felt a deep connection with the story as he had an older brother and always felt like the boss baby within his family; he toldDen of Geek,“My personal goal with this was to watch this movie with my brother, and see how it affected him”, ultimately leading to his sibling being moved to tears.The Boss Babywas a slam dunk at the box office, grossing over $500 million and earning appreciation for its stellar voice performances and animation. Its success spawneda Netflix seriesand follow-up sequel.
7Working Girl
Mike Nichols directed the 1988 romantic dramedyWorking Girl,which stars Melanie Griffith as enthusiastic and savvy Staten Island receptionist Tess McGill, who is duped by her boss when she takes credit for an idea Tess came up with; when her idea-stealing superior is injured, Tess takes over her role and fights to reclaim her original concept. Alec Baldwin appears alongside Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver as Mick Dugan, Tess’ no good cheating boyfriend who she rightfully ditches on her quest for independence and fulfillment.
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During production, Griffith actually had a crush on Baldwin and gushed about working with the star, tellingThe Hollywood Reporter,“Alec Baldwin is handsome and charming, and I just had such a crush on him. But he wouldn’t go there with me. I was like, ‘Oh come on, have a romance with me!’ But no, Alec said, ‘I can’t do this with the people I work with.’ He’s a sweetheart.”Working Girlwas met with critical acclaim and became Baldwin’s most successful picture up until that point in his career.
6Glengarry Glen Ross
Chronicling two heightened days in the lives of a group of renowned real estate salesmen, the 1992 dramaGlengarry Glen Rossfeatures thetalent of Al Pacino,Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, and Ed Harris, who portray prominent New York City real estate moguls that battle it out to remain with their office after they’re given the shocking news that all but two of them will be fired. Based on David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, the tense picture was infamous for its heavy use of profanity that was also utilized in the stage production.
The role of Blake was specifically written with Alec Baldwin in mind, as his character was not in the play, with producerJerry Tokofsky recalling,“Alec said: I’ve read 25 scripts and nothing is as good as this. OK. If you make it, I’ll do it.”Glengarry Glen Rosshad its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and while being a box office blunder was heralded by critics, with Pacino nabbing an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal. Baldwin is mainly in the film to give one speech, but it’s one of the most epic, legendary monologues in cinema history.
5The Cooler
Alec Baldwin received his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in the 2003 romantic dramaThe Cooler,which tells the story of a casino “cooler,” a top gambling jinx whose physical presence typically causes a streak of bad luck for players in his presence. William H. Macy stars as notorious cooler Bernie Lootz, who finds his fortune changing when he falls in love with an attractive waitress and loses his lucrative curse. Alec Baldwin appears as Bernie’s domineering boss Shelly Kaplow, who turns a hefty profit with his associate’s bad luck and sets out to destroy the relationship between the new couple in order to keep the cash rolling in.
The Coolerwas a critical hit, with Baldwin’s performance being singled out as one of the film’s finest;Rolling Stonecommended the actor, writing, “Top of the line is Baldwin, whose revelatory portrayal of an old Vegas hard-liner in thrall to the town’s faded allure is the stuff Oscars are made of. From James Whitaker’s seductive camerawork to Mark Isham’s lush score,The Coolerplaces all the smart best and hits the jackpot.”
4Blue Jasmine
Woody Allen directed the 2013 Oscar-winning dramedyBlue Jasmine,in which thebrilliant Cate Blanchett portraysNew York socialite Jasmine, the wife of a wealthy and influential businessman who runs away to stay with her working-class sister in San Francisco when her marriage implodes. Alec Baldwin stars as Jasmine’s husband Hal Francis, a disgraced money manager who is arrested for swindling and defrauding his clients, contributing to the fleeing and nervous breakdown of Jasmine.
The actor jumped at the chance to once again work with Allen, and was eager to collaborate with Blanchett,gushing about the actressto SBS Movies, “I love Woody andBlue Jasminewas a good screenplay. But this time I wanted to work with Cate. I hadn’t done a dramatic film like that in a while…The best acting today is being done by women, and there’s none better than Cate.”
3The Hunt for Red October
Alec Baldwin appeared alongside some of Hollywood’s finest like Sean Connery and James Earl Jones in the 1990 submarine spy thrillerThe Hunt for Red October,an adaptation of the popular Tom Clancy novel that is the first installment of thefilm series with hero Jack Ryan.In the gripping picture, Baldwin takes on the role of the aforementioned CIA intelligence analyst and professor, squaring off against Connery’s Captain Marko Ramius after he is tasked with determining whether the rogue Soviet naval captain is a threat against the United States when he wishes to defect to the country.
To prepare for the action-fueled role, Baldwin spent a lot of time on aLos Angeles-class submarine and was trained to drive an attack submarine; he took on the famous character after both Kevin Costner and Harrison Ford turned it down. His dynamite portrayal of Ryan earned praise from critics, with theChicago Tribunewriting, “Clancy is known for writing difficult books, but the movie makes plausible a preposterous situation because of Baldwin’s convincing, low-key approach to being a film hero.”
2The Departed
The renowned Martin Scorsesedirected the star-studded 2006 epic crime thrillerThe Departed,a remake of the Hong Kong filmInternal Affairsthat is also loosely based on the Boston Winter Hill Gang, which tells the riveting tale of the battle between an undercover cop and mole who attempt to identify each other while infiltrating a violent Irish gang in Boston. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon headline the gritty thriller, with DiCaprio portraying undercover cop Billy Costigan and Alec Baldwin appearing as his short-tempered Captain George Ellerby, who oversees the dangerous assignment.
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The Departedopened to rave reviews, with many calling it Scorsese’s best silver screen creation since 1990’sThe Goodfellas;the edgy and nerve-wracking movie also earned the esteemed filmmaker the Academy Award for Best Director, who was shocked by the win due to the thriller’s intense violence and vicious brutality.
1Beetlejuice
Arguably Alec Baldwin’s most adored and celebrated film to date, Tim Burton’s iconic 1988 fantasy comedyBeetlejuicecenters on a recently deceased young married couple whose attempts at ridding their home of an insufferable family fall flat, so they they enlist the help of the devious eponymous character to get the job done. Baldwin appears alongside Geena Davis in the picture, portraying the kind-hearted husband and wife Barabara and Adam Maitland, who are shocked to discover they did not actually survive a car accident and must not only contend with their new ghost status but also the unbearable Deetz clan who now inhabit their home.
Michael Keaton notoriously portrays the obnoxious “bio-exorcist” sent in to scare away the family, delivering a hilarious and memorable performance.Beetlejuiceis a beloved Burton staple that has garnered a passionate following from fans, and after years of speculation and production woesa sequel was officially announcedin February 2022 with both Keaton and Winona Ryder set to reprise their roles.
