In an interview with USA Today published Tuesday, "30 Rock" star Alec Baldwin talked about how working on the Emmy-winning NBC sitcom -- which is now in its last season -- provided him with stability after his messy divorce from actress Kim Basinger.
"The television show, in terms of lifestyle, was a real harbor for me at a time when I needed something more familiar and simple," he said. "I'd gotten divorced. I was in this really tough custody battle. I needed something to be really smooth in my life. This was the smoothest job I ever could have had, in terms of the way I was accommodated with my schedule. The TV show has been [like] being tied up in the harbor. Now I'm going out in the open water. It's tricky. It's thrilling but tricky."
Basinger filed for divorce from Baldwin in 2001 after seven years of marriage. They finalized their split in 2002, but their bitter custody battle over daughter Ireland lasted much longer. In 2007, Baldwin told "The View" co-hosts that the infamous "rude, thoughtless, little pig" voicemail he left for his then-11-year-old daughter was a result of "deep and seemingly endless frustration" with his ex.
Baldwin has since remarried yoga instructor Hilaria Thomas. They tied the knot in June 2012.
But the "30 Rock" actor is hardly the first celebrity to benefit from keeping busy after a tough divorce. Click through the slides below for five other stars who got back to work after their splits.
