Alec Baldwin Doesn’t Want To Play Trump Anymore
There was a time when one of Alec Baldwin’s favorite things to do on a Saturday night was to jump into a messy pile of wigs, ties, and orange setting powder, and drag his Twitter enemy Donald Trump during the cold open of Saturday Night Live. It almost brought him as much joy as getting into fist fights with strangers on the street. But that love affair is over. After two Emmy nominations and one win, Alec Baldwin says he’s ready to call it a day.
Alec spoke to USA Today about his new movie, Framing John DeLorean, in which he plays John DeLorean. He was asked who he’d like to see play Trump on SNL after him if he decides to retire. Alec barely had to think about it, because Alec doesn’t want to do it anymore.
“I don’t know. Darrell Hammond did it and is a far better impressionist than I’ll ever be. When Anthony Atamanuik (started impersonating Trump on Comedy Central’s The President Show), all these people were attacking me, saying, ‘Oh, your impression sucks and you suck. Please go away.’ It also was something I thought to myself: ‘I really don’t have a lot invested in my Trump impersonation, so please find someone and convince Lorne (Michaels) to replace me.’ I’m completely down with that. Winning the Emmy for that show aside, it was not some career goal of mine…So if (Atamanuik) wants the job, it’s his. He can have it.”
Darrell Hammond was a regular cast member on SNL from 1995 to 2009. In 2015, he returned to replace Don Pardo as SNL’s announcer (after Don Pardo died). When Trump started campaigning for President, lots of people figured Darrell Hammond would be asked to do the Trump impression (as he had done years earlier), but Lorne Michaels chose Alec Baldwin, because they needed more of an asshole Trump. Darrell Hammond didn’t take the news too well, so who knows if he’d even want the job if they asked him to step back in.
Anthony Atamanuik’s The President Show is on a bit of a hiatus at the moment. But if this Twitter exchange from a few years back is any indication, I wouldn’t be surprised if Anthony wouldn’t be too eager to accept Alec’s sloppy seconds:
You're welcome
— HABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) March 2, 2017
Regardless of who steps in, it sounds like there’s only a couple months to fill the position. The 44th season ended last month, and Alec is sure he won’t be back when the show returns for a 45th season in the fall.
“I can’t imagine I would do it again. I just can’t. They should find somebody who wants to do it. They’re all my dear friends and I love going there, but the other thing is that I’m going to go to work this fall in a way I haven’t done in a while. My wife and I had a son a year ago, and since he was born, I’ve worked minimally because I wanted to be there for my wife and kids. But the party’s over this fall and I’ll be traveling. SNL just crushes my weekends, and now weekends are going to become much more precious to me because that’s time with my kids”
Alec Baldwin has five kids, with four of them being under five years old. Is he sure he wants to spend that much time with all those kids? We know what happens when he gets stressed out with one kid. I have a feeling it won’t be long before a voicemail gets leaked from inside SNL. “Lorne, get me back in that red tie. I can’t do another Saturday night sing-a-long with The Wiggles.”
Pic: YouTube