Alec Baldwin: who is actor, and list of films and TV shows he has been in - including Friends and Madagascar

Alec Baldwin is arguably one of Hollywood’s most accomplished actors, having starred in movies such as It’s Complicated (2009), Pearl Harbor (2001), 30 Rock and The Boss Baby (2017).

On 22 October, he was involved in a ‘freak accident’ in which he fired a prop gun on set of upcoming movie Rust and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Baldwin comes from a star-studded family which includes niece, model Hailey Baldwin-Beiber, and brothers Daniel, William, and Stephen, also actors.

So, what movies and TV shows has he starred in, how many children does he have and what happened on the set of Rust? This is what you need to know.

Who is Alec Baldwin?

Alec Baldwin is the eldest of four actor brothers and two sisters, born in New York in 1958.

He was raised in the Nassau Shores neighbourhood and his family come from Irish, French and English roots. He was raised as a member of the Roman Catholic faith.

In the early 1980s, he attended the Tisch school of Arts at New York University, where he studied alongside the likes of Geoffrey Horne at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.

Baldwin got his first taste of fame in 1985, joining the cast of primetime CBS soap opera Knots Landing, as Joshua Rush.

Following his role in Knot Landing, he made his cinematic debut in Forever, Lulu (1987), followed by Tim Burton’s comedy Beetlejuice (1988).

In 1990, he met his future wife Kim Basinger on the set of the movie The Marrying Man.

The couple married in 1993 and welcomed daughter Ireland Baldwin in 1995. They separated and divorced in 2002. Their split was highly publicised and incredibly controversial.

Baldwin stated that Basinger’s divorce lawyers were “opportunists,” and he published a book about his experience of fatherhood and divorce in 2008.

In 2012, he remarried after finding love with New York-based yoga instructor Hillary ‘Hilaria’ Baldwin.

The wedding took place at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in New York City and they have had six children together.

What are his career highlights?

Following his success in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, Baldwin went on to star in Woody Allen’s Alice (1990) and later worked with him in movies To Rome with Love (2012), and Blue Jasmine (2013).

From 1998 to 2003, he provided the voiceover for Thomas and Friends, as the conductor. He left the role after winning the role of The Cat in The Hat in the screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book.

In 2000, he executive produced Nuremberg which retold the story of the Nuremberg trials. He also starred as  Justice Robert H. Jackson in the two-part docu drama.

In 2001, he starred in romantic war drama Pearl Harbor, as Lt. Col. James Doolittle. He then resumed his directing role for Shortcut to Happiness (2003), again he was also cast in the film alongside Jennifer Love-Hewitt and Anthony Hopkins.

In 2004, he featured alongside Jennifer Aniston in Along Came Polly, he had previously worked with the actress in two early episodes of Friends. Later in 2004, he starred in award-winning actor Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator.

His best known voice-acting role was for Disney’s Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, in which he is the voice of Makunga the Lion. His voice roles also include Santa Claus in Guardians of the Galaxy (2012) and as the boss baby in Boss Baby (2017) and Boss Baby: Family Business (2021).

In 2009, he starred alongside Cameron Diaz in My Sister’s Keeper, a screen adaptation of Jodi Picoult’s novel by the same name. Later that year he co-starred in rom-com It’s Complicated, with Meryl Streep.

He assumed the role of Alan Hunley for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) and Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018), featuring Tom Cruise.

Aside from his huge success as an Emmy and Golden Globe award winning actor, he has also cameoed and featured in several TV series.

These include two episodes of Friends, ten episodes of Will and Grace and hosted 17 episodes of Saturday Night Live since 1990.

He also famously played the role of Donald Trump on SNL in 2016, for which he won a third Primetime Emmy.

From 2006 to 2013, he joined the cast of US comedy series 30 Rock, starring alongside Tina Fey and won several awards for his role as Jack Donachy. He reprised the role for a reunion series in 2020.

Baldwin is set to star in the upcoming movie Supercell, which has yet to be announced for release.

During his filming for new movie Rust, he accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while firing what was thought to be a prop gun.

What happened on the set of Rust?

On 22 October, Baldwin was on the set of Rust in New Mexico when he shot a prop gun and fatally injured cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42.

It is thought the gun was loaded with blanks, which means the gun would have still had a cartilage; gunpowder and firing pin.

The actor also injured the movie’s director, Joel Souza. He is currently being treated for his injuries in hospital.

No one has been arrested and the incident is being treated as a ‘freak accident’. Baldwin was seen outside the sheriff’s office in the aftermath of the accident, reports claim he was visibly upset while using his mobile phone.

In a statement to AFP news agency, a Santa Fe sheriff spokesman said Mr Baldwin had spoken to detectives.

"He came in voluntarily and he left the building after he finished his interviews," the spokesman said.