Alec Baldwin: Tina Fey "Nailed" Palin And Ledger Was A Brando

Actor and author Alec Baldwin complimented "30 Rock" costar Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin at a Time magazine Q&A Tuesday in New York. Videotaped for an upcoming issue of the magazine's 10 questions and done to promote "30 Rock" (back late next month) and his book A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce (out next week), Baldwin answered user submitted questions in a room at the Time offices Tuesday morning.

The first question asked what he thought of Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live":

Obviously people jumped on that the moment Palin emerged... she was nervous to get it right. People were sending her ideas, these are her former colleagues at the show, and I was with her at work and they were submitting these suggestions to her and I think she was very nervous to get the right one, and also one that's not too malicious or what have you, you know, to really get the right tone. I watched and I couldn't believe it. I thought that they nailed it!

He added, in an imitation of Fey as Palin from SNL, "I can see Russia from my house!"

He went on of Fey:

You know, she really is an incredible actress. She came into the show for the news segment of SNL, and writing, obviously. And the more she goes out there on the ice the better she can do. I really think she's funny.

Later, Baldwin took a moment from discussing art's importance to compliment Heath Ledger:

Watch a movie like "Brokeback Mountain," which is an incredible movie. You know, Heath Ledger dying was this huge tragedy because he gave one of the greatest screen performances of a male performer in 50 years, literally. Like with Brando. I would never say that, but he was that great in that movie. Forget Batman and all this other crap. "Brokeback Mountain" was just unbelievable.

During the rest of the hour, Baldwin talked politics and divorce, did dead-on impressions of Tony Bennett and "30 Rock" costar Tracy Morgan (whom he named when asked who cracks him up), shared what it's like backstage at SNL and told self-deprecating stories of his Hollywood career, like the failure of "Prelude to a Kiss."

The video should be on Time's website Wednesday and some answers will be in Friday's issue of the magazine.

Comments

[huffybike]

Nailed indeed: http://www.entertonement.com/clips/25875/Tina-Fey/I-Believe-Global-Warming-is-Caused-By-Man-and-I-Believe-It%27s-Just-God-Hugging-Us-Closer

[celticjag]

Comparing Heath Ledger To Marlon Brando, please. I am no expert, but I consider Brando to be the best American actor of my time and Ledger is no Brando. I look at actors such as Newman, Poitier, Washington, Bogart, Fonda, Cagney, Gable, Pacino etc. and Heath is not in their class. Sorry Alec!

[AgentMacGyver]

Sadly, Pacino may no longer belong on that list. And you forgot Paul Walker. j/k

[leftcoastindy]

The fact that your list includes no one under the age of 50 says something about your taste.

Also, you did not even mention the best over the last 2 decades - Sir Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hanks

Sorry Celtic!

[tristan90us]

I'll bet I'm older than you and the whole idea that noone can be compared with Brando is way over. Brando's acting style is out of date now although it was amazing in it's own time. (I saw Brando's movies in the theater and they left his audiences stunned.) However, Heath Ledger was an actor for the ages. He had the best voice of any of the great actors and he had a gift for accents that none of the actors you mention could match. Ledger's death left us without a a young actor of great genius even though some of the young actors around now are not bad.
BTW: Newman and Gable were limited actors. Big stars, but just OK. Fonda was kind of one note too.

[historyman2008]

Sorry, but I'd have to agree with Baldwin: Heath Ledger was as good as Brando. And, in my humble opinion, he was better than Poitier, Bogart, Fonda, Cagney, Gable and (especially) Pacino. Just look Ledger's 2005 output: Brokeback Mountain, Lords of Dogtown, The Brothers Grimm and Casanova. Regardless of those films' overall quality, the stunning range that Ledger showed in those extraordinarily different roles was simply astonishing: a taciturn cowboy seething with closed-in emotions, a stoner/slacker wistfully seeing his life and dreams pass by, a befuddled bookworm/con-man who discovers untapped courage, and a charming lothario. The only other actor of our era who could compete with Ledger is a woman: Kate Winslet.

[alieninvader]

Or another woman, Meryl Streep. She never fails to amaze me.

[rkrs1]

All this talk of grat modern actors, and no mention of the great Gary Oldman. He's played Beethoven, Lee Harvey Oswald, Dracula, a psycho killer pimp, a psycho killer cop, Rosencrantz (or Guildenstern, I can never remember) and Commissioner Gordon. He is amazing in every film he does.

[ssgman]

Well, the 2 best living actors are Depp and Deniro, and those 2 outclass all the ones you mentioned--Newman?? GMAB. Brando was great, though. He had a number of jaw-dropping performances.

[boycottrightwingthings]

Segman, I think that Depp SUCKS. I can't believe that you put him in the same sentence as DeNiro!! Newman is WAY better than Depp ANY DAY!!

[progressivelady]

Keep Blogging Alec, your so good at playing an out of touch Repub. on 30 rock, you deserve lot's of award's

[bluprojekt]

One of my fav SNL skits with Alec Baldwin has to be the Bill Brasky skit he did with Will Farrell and Mark McKinney - truly classic

"Now Go Away or I Will Taunt You a Second Time."

[andvoodoo2]

Is it better than the "Schweaty Balls" skits?

[marknpgh289]

The Pete Schweaty sketches are Baldwin's best. How they kept a straight face during those bits is beyond my understanding. Cracks me up every time.

[GuyRC]

ahahaha yep, and the whole NPR radio show framework for that sketch... oh man

[BlueandGreen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azddGazTvv0
Classic!

[pkafin]

I just saw a clip of the Tony Bennet (Baldwin) dick Cheney (Hammond) sketch. Ok, not as side splitting funny as Schwety balls, but it's quite a good bit of comedic acting by Baldwin.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/1500/saturday-night-live-tony-bennett-and-dick-cheney