'My Wife Was the Meanest of All': Alec Baldwin Gears up for Roast
Ahead of being roasted by friends and family on television next week, Alec Baldwin stopped by the “Tonight Show” to chat with Jimmy Fallon about his now-iconic President Donald Trump impersonation and his no-holds-barred memoir.
Baldwin and Fallon wasted no time sliding into pal-like banter, two "Saturday Night Live" alums once again lighting up a stage together.
“Your impression… is unbelievable,” Fallon said of Baldwin’s Trump.
And the “Tonight” host clearly isn’t the only one in awe of Baldwin’s ability to slip into the businessman-turned-president. The comedian has had a recurring role on SNL since October 2016, playing his larger-than-life Trump more than 20 times.
Baldwin told Fallon he enjoys portraying the president in the “quick bursts” of SNL sketches because he doesn’t have to linger too long in the character, as he would in a 90-minute film.
“We’re in, we’re out,” he said through large, black sunglasses glistening under the studio lights.
Baldwin made sure to humbly clarify he was wearing the shades not because he’s a “movie star” but because he needed to hide an ugly allergy.
But just because he’s in and out of the character doesn’t mean his work doesn’t follow him home. Fallon played a video for the audience of Baldwin teaching his 3-year-old daughter, Carmen, his signature moves.
In the video, Carmen sits next to her dad, looking up at him. Baldwin throws his hands up, fingers spread. With his lips pursed, he says words and phrases in his Trump voice while Carmen copies everything he does, clearly a little SNL host-in-the-making.
Carmen would have big shoes to fill if she were to follow in the footsteps of her father. Baldwin's remarkable career spans three decades and includes successes such as "30 Rock," “Beetlejuice,” “The Aviator” and “The Cooler." He has received Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination, for his work.
Not to mention the record 17 times he has hosted SNL.
“Man, oh man, when you look at your work and what you’ve done,” Fallon said to Baldwin, holding a copy of his 2017 memoir, “Nevertheless.”
The New York Times bestselling autobiography includes raw stories from Baldwin’s unimaginable life and career, including the time he supposedly overdosed on drugs in the 1980s, which was the story he submitted to his publishers as a writing sample for the memoir.
“And they said, ‘We love it!’” Balwin quipped.
This and much more was up for grabs during Baldwin’s previously taped roast and tribute. Baldwin told Fallon he was genuinely surprised by the people who showed up to honor him, which included his daughter Ireland Baldwin, his SNL co-star Kate McKinnon and actor Robert De Niro.
"My wife was the meanest of all," Baldwin joked of Hilaria. "It's incredible."
Former President Bill Clinton even took the mic.
“Bill Clinton showed up and brought me on the stage,” Baldwin told Fallon. “My mouth was on the floor. I was stunned.”
Clinton, in a previewed clip of the tribute, reminisced about his more-than-20-year friendship with the Trump impersonator. He explained how Baldwin had run for student government in school before becoming an actor, calling “politics into soap operas” a “then-classic path.” Then he took a jab at the real Trump.
“And now we know it works the other way around,” Clinton said, turning to Baldwin. “You need to think about running again. You’ll probably win the next time.”
“One Night Only” airs July 9 at 9 p.m. ET on Spike.