Entertainment
Baldwin: Trump revived my career
Actor Alec Baldwin said that his impersonation of US President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live has revived his “dead” comedy career after he wrapped up sitcom 30 Rock in 2012.Reuters
Actor Alec Baldwin said that his impersonation of US President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live has revived his “dead” comedy career after he wrapped up sitcom 30 Rock in 2012.
“I didn’t realize in the comedy terms that I was dead,” Baldwin told Reuters when asked if he felt he was entering a new era with his comedy.
“Maybe I was in a coma ... now I’m waking up from a coma and now I’m ready to do some comedy.”
It has been nearly five years since Baldwin, 58, concluded his six-year tenure as the charming corporate boss Jack Donaghy in the quirky comedy series 30 Rock.
Since then, he has appeared in a handful of movies in supporting roles, but the actor saw a new surge in popularity when he took over as Trump on Saturday Night Live (SNL) last October, ahead of November’s US presidential elections. Viewer ratings have soared for SNL since Baldwin started portraying Trump in a series of skits mocking the billionaire reality TV star-turned-politician as a dim-witted commander-in-chief with a short attention span, an oversized-ego and a Twitter addiction.
Trump criticised the show in December, calling it “totally unwatchable” and a “hit-job.”
Asked whether he felt playing the president took a toll on him, Baldwin said the challenge of the role was that it would “delight some people and offend other people.”
“A large plurality of the country voted for Trump as president, and I think many of them are people that are not fond of the way Trump is treated, not just by SNL but the comedy cosmos in general,” he said.
“I think for me playing Trump has been, it’s been a fun experience because it’s like going home when I do SNL.”