Alec Baldwin played a conservative ideologue on "30 Rock" because Tina Fey thought it would be funny to cast the staunch liberal in such an unlikely role. But the 55-year-old actor will get to play up his left-leaning political views in an upcoming current events talk show for MSNBC.
The network announced Thursday that Baldwin, whose wife just gave birth to a baby girl, would start hosting "Up Late With Alec Baldwin" in October.
"I've been talking with Alec for a while and can't wait to bring his personality and eclectic interests to MSNBC," network president Phil Griffin said in a statement. "He's got such passion for ideas and what's going on in the world -- he's going to be a great addition to our lineup."
“I’ve developed a fondness for hosting a show that involved talking with smart, talented and engaging people in every imaginable field,” Baldwin, who already hosts a WNYC podcast called "Here's the Thing," said in a statement. “I’m grateful to MSNBC for helping me bring a similar show to television.”
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Baldwin called conservatism "so illogical" in an April interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"Everywhere you go, conservatives want to cut, cut, cut, cut — cut money for powerless people. So that’s the biggest problem I have with them," he said.
Asked whether he would ever host a talk show, Baldwin said "itt depends on the format and who it was for and what the schedule was like."
"Those guys that do talk shows have that terrible condition where they have to pretend everybody’s special. I don’t know if I could do that," he said.
