Editing Alec Baldwin (section)

=== 1980–1992: Rise to prominence ===
[[File:Alec Baldwin Kim Basinger crop.JPG|thumb|left|160px|Baldwin with [[Kim Basinger]] at the 1994 [[César Awards]], Paris]]
Baldwin's first acting role was as Billy Aldrich in the NBC daytime soap opera ''[[The Doctors (1963 TV series)|The Doctors]]'' from August 20, 1980, to 1982. In the fall of 1983, he starred in the short-lived television series ''[[Cutter to Houston]]''. The actor made his TV movie debut playing the titular Sheriff Ed Cassaday in ''The Sheriff and the Astronaut'' (1984). He went on to appear as the brother of [[Valene Ewing]] and son of [[Lilimae Clements]] (played by [[Joan Van Ark]] and [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]], respectively) in ''[[Knots Landing]]'' from 1984 to 1985. In 1986, Baldwin starred in ''[[Dress Gray]]'', a four-hour made-for-television miniseries, as an honest cadet sergeant who tries to solve the mystery of a murdered gay classmate.<ref name="Dress Gray (1986)"/> Baldwin made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut in 1986 in a revival of [[Joe Orton]]'s ''[[Loot (play)|Loot]]'' alongside [[Zoë Wanamaker]], [[Željko Ivanek]], [[Joseph Maher]], and [[Charles Keating (actor)|Charles Keating]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/13046/Loot| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211026/http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/13046/Loot| archive-date=October 26, 2021|title=Loot on Broadway|work=[[Playbill (magazine)|Playbill]]|access-date=September 28, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> This production closed after three months.

Baldwin made his feature film debut with a minor role in the 1987 comedy-mystery ''[[Forever, Lulu (1987 film)|Forever, Lulu]]''. In 1988, he rose to prominence acting in five major films. He starred in [[Tim Burton]] fantasy horror comedy ''[[Beetlejuice]]'' (1988) opposite [[Michael Keaton]] and [[Geena Davis]]. He had supporting roles in the [[Mike Nichols]] romantic comedy ''[[Working Girl]]'' and [[Jonathan Demme]]'s crime comedy ''[[Married to the Mob]]''. He also co-starred in [[Oliver Stone]]'s drama ''[[Talk Radio (film)|Talk Radio]]'' opposite [[Eric Bogosian]] and in the [[John Hughes (filmmaker)|John Hughes]] romantic drama ''[[She's Having a Baby]]'' with [[Kevin Bacon]] and [[Elizabeth McGovern]].

He gained further recognition as a leading man with his role as [[Jack Ryan (Tom Clancy)|Jack Ryan]] in ''[[The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October]]'' (1990). That same year, he also starred in the [[black comedy]] [[crime film]] ''[[Miami Blues]]'' alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward.<ref>{{cite news |title=Alec Baldwin: Taking back control ... until tragedy struck |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/23/alec-baldwin-taking-back-control-until-tragedy-struck |access-date=27 October 2021 |work=the Guardian |date=23 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/83387/miami-blues#overview |access-date=27 October 2021|title=Miami Blues}}</ref> Baldwin met his future wife [[Kim Basinger]] when they played lovers in the 1991 film ''[[The Marrying Man]]''. Next, Baldwin played a ferocious sales executive in ''[[Glengarry Glen Ross (film)|Glengarry Glen Ross]]'' (1992), a part added to the film version of [[David Mamet]]'s [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning stage play (including the monologue "Coffee's for closers"). Later that same year, he starred in ''[[Prelude to a Kiss (film)|Prelude to a Kiss]]'' with [[Meg Ryan]], which was based on the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] play. The film received a lukewarm reception by critics and grossed only $22&nbsp;million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1992/0PTAK.php| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211026/https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1992/0PTAK.php| archive-date=October 26, 2021|title=Prelude to a Kiss|publisher=The-numbers.com|access-date=October 31, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>