William Baldwin

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William Joseph Baldwin (born February 21, 1963) is an American actor, producer, and writer known for his starring roles in such films as Flatliners (1990), Backdraft (1991), Sliver (1993), Fair Game (1995), Virus (1999), Double Bang (2001), as Johnny 13 in Danny Phantom (2004–2007), Art Heist (2004), The Squid and the Whale (2005), as himself in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), as Senator Patrick Darling in the drama series Dirty Sexy Money (2007–2009), Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010), as William van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl until December 2012, and as Gordon Flint on Parenthood.
Baldwin appeared as lead detective Brian Albert in the Lifetime Original Movie The Craigslist Killer. In 2013, he joined the cast of BBC America's Copper for two episodes of season 2, prior to the series being cancelled.

Early life

Baldwin was born in Massapequa, New York, the son of Carol Newcomb (née Martineau) and Alexander Rae Baldwin, Jr. His father was a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach. He is the brother of actors Alec, Daniel, and Stephen, sometimes collectively known as the Baldwin brothers, and of sisters Beth and Jane, all together known as the Baldwin family. Baldwin was raised in a Catholic family, and has English, Irish, Scottish, French-Canadian, and German ancestry. A graduate of Alfred G. Berner High School and Binghamton University, where he was a varsity wrestler, he has a degree in political science.

Career

1980s

Before starting his acting career, Baldwin was a fashion model for Calvin Klein. His first starring role was in a TV movie as Robert Chambers, alongside Danny Aiello and Lara Flynn Boyle in The Preppie Murder, which aired on ABC in 1989. Baldwin also appeared in the 1989 film Born on the Fourth of July, starring Tom Cruise, where he had a minor role as a U.S Marine during the Vietnam War, his brothers Daniel and Stephen also had minor parts in the film.

1990s

Baldwin's first featured film is Internal Affairs, where he starred alongside Richard Gere and Andy García. He then starred in big-budget films like Flatliners with stars like Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon. He portrayed Chicago firefighter Brian McCaffrey in Backdraft alongside Kurt Russell and many other stars. His role in 1993 film Sliver along with Sharon Stone earned him the MTV Movie Award for Most Desirable Male.

In 1995, among other diverse characters he has played in his career, Baldwin was on Joel Schumacher's shortlist for Batman Forever to play the caped crusader, his four diverse choices were Daniel Day-Lewis, Ralph Fiennes, Val Kilmer and Baldwin, the role went to Val Kilmer. Baldwin starred alongside Cindy Crawford in Fair Game, then in 1996 starred in a low-budget film by Miramax Films titled Curdled, and was paid US$150,000 for his performance compared to the $1.7 million he received for his role in Sliver. In 1998, he appeared in Warren Beatty's film Bulworth as Constance Bulworth's lover. In 1999, Baldwin teamed up with Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Sutherland for the science fiction thriller Virus, and alongside Peter Gallagher in the Showtime original movie, Brotherhood of Murder.

2000s

In 2001, Baldwin played a leading role in the television film Double Bang which aired on HBO. Since then, Baldwin has played in other projects such as Red Rover in 2003, Park, Feel and Lenexa, 1 Mile in 2006, Adrift in Manhattan, A Plumm Summer, Noise, and Humble Pie in 2007. His 2004 film Art Heist received much attentions when its released on DVD. Baldwin has continued to act in films and on television, but has not taken many leading roles. He was well received in a supporting role in the 2005 film The Squid and the Whale alongside Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels, for which he earned the Gotham Award for Best Cast. He also co-starred in ABC's Dirty Sexy Money as Donald Sutherland's oldest son, Patrick Darling IV, for the duration of the show until April 2009. In 2008, he appeared in the comedy film Forgetting Sarah Marshall which stars Jason Segel and Kristen Bell, as Detective Hunter Rush. In February 2010, audiences got to hear his first time playing Batman in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, a loose adaptation of Grant Morrison's JLA: Earth 2 story.

2010s

In 2010, Baldwin portrayed Dr. Willam van der Woodsen, father of Serena and Eric van der Woodsen, on the third and fourth seasons of Gossip Girl. Baldwin was also featured with his brother Daniel in UniGlobe Entertainment's breast cancer docu-drama, 1 a Minute. The documentary was made by actress Namrata Singh Gujral and will feature breast cancer survivors Olivia Newton-John, Diahann Carroll, Melissa Etheridge, Namrata Singh Gujral, Mumtaz and Jaclyn Smith as well as Daniel Baldwin and Priya Dutt. Baldwin was cast in the second season of Parenthood to play a boss and love interest for several episodes. Baldwin joined Parenthood for a multi-episode arc that aired in fall 2010 as Gordon Flint, the "wealthy, charismatic" boss of Adam (Peter Krause), a bachelor who also has eyes for Adam's sister Sarah (Lauren Graham). In 2011, Baldwin starred in the Lifetime Original Movie, The Craigslist Killer which aired January 3, 2011. He plays the lead detective on the case of the killer, Philip Markoff, who connected with victims through Craigslist ads placed in Boston, Massachusetts.

On June 1, 2011, Baldwin joined Sobini Films' indie film Sexy Evil Genius along with Seth Green, Harold Perrineau Jr., Katee Sackhoff, and Michelle Trachtenberg. The film is to be directed by Shawn Piller. In July 2011, Baldwin joined the CBS drama Hawaii Five-0 for a multi-episode arc. On March 22, 2012, Baldwin guest starred on the NBC show 30 Rock. Baldwin plays Lance Drake Mandrell, an actor who plays Jack Donaghy – the role played in the series by Baldwin's real-life brother Alec – in a made-for-TV movie within the show.

Baldwin is currently a model for Sacoor Brothers. Baldwin appeared in the fourth and final season of Wilfred, replacing Dwight Yoakum in the role of Bruce. In 2015, he narrated for the documentary A Wing and a Prayer, a film about American fighter pilots who assisted in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the founding of the Israeli Air Force.

Personal life

In 1995, Baldwin married singer Chynna Phillips of the music group Wilson Phillips and daughter of musician John Phillips by his second wife, Michelle. Together, they have three children: daughter Jameson (born 2000), son Vance (born 2002), and daughter Brooke (born 2004).

Baldwin splits his time between an estate in Santa Barbara, California and another in Bedford Corners, New York (30 minutes away from his brother Stephen's estate in Nyack, New York).

Filmography