alec baldwin was a huge star before he took on the role of President Donald Trump on NBC’s sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live.” He’d starred in a wide range of movies for a wide range of directors, like “Beetlejuice” for Tim Burton, “The Departed” for Martin Scorsese, “Blue Jasmine” for Woody Allen etc. and yet he seems to have found the role he’ll be most remembered for in a spoof of the controversial (to say the least) bigot who’s been inexplicably put in charge of the United States.
Baldwin, still drawing huge crowds from projects like his latest cinematic release, the animated “Boss Baby” for DreamWorks Animation, had been in need of a defining role for a while.
He’s been terrific in drama, but his highest-profile roles have been in comedy. For example, think about the role you remember Alec Baldwin the most for. Jack Donaghy, right? Well, his role as Trump has been ever better-received, because the satire target is more universally known.
Stephen Colbert asked Baldwin about his method
Stephen Colbert, who satirised politics on Comedy Central for years on “The Daily Show” and later on his own show “The Colbert Report” and has since taken over CBS’ late-night talk show “Late Show,” was interested to know about Baldwin’s method when the actor appeared on his show for an interview. Not the method for coming up with ways to make fun of Trump, of course, because that’s pretty self-explanatory, but how he gets into the role and impersonates him so accurately.
Colbert gushed over Baldwin for his impression, after introducing him to the show as the man he wanted to be President instead of Trump, saying that he thanked God for making it happen the first time he saw it, happy that “somebody (had) cracked that nut.” Baldwin said that the number of fans who approach him on the street to praise his Trump impression is “eerie.”
Asking how Baldwin prepares, Colbert asked what the primary “thing” that the actor needs to get into character is, posing the question: “is it the face, the hair, is it the hands?” Baldwin said that the trick to humorously portraying Trump, who went from real estate mogul to star of reality television to President of the United States and humorously portrays himself on a daily basis, is “to make it totally a caricature.”
Baldwin lists the Trump mannerisms he adopts
Baldwin went on to list for Colbert the mannerisms he’s noticed from watching Trump to prepare for the role: “left eyebrow up, right eyebrow down...and shove your face out like you’re trying to suck the chrome off the fender of a car.” Speaking of sucking, Colbert spent the interview sucking up to Baldwin, who stands alongside Melissa McCarthy in revered political impersonations on “SNL.” McCarthy plays Press Secretary Sean Spicer (brilliantly).
Trump has not been the biggest fan of Baldwin’s impression of him, saying on Fox News Channel’s “Watters’ World” that he’d rather fire Baldwin than Chuck Schumer or Jeff Zucker.
