“He’s exposing a really raw nerve with the American electorate,” the actor said.

by Rahel Gebreyes Editor, HuffPost Live

Donald Trump’s political ascent may have left many scratching their heads, but actor William Baldwin understands why The Donald’s campaign has been so effective.

When Baldwin stopped by HuffPost Live to discuss his new film “Lead With Your Heart,” he weighed in on the former “Apprentice” host’s unapologetic 2016 campaign. While he doesn’t support Trump, Baldwin explained that the Republican candidate is revealing a serious problem within the American political system.

“He’s exposing something that’s … the most important issue of our time. It’s how disillusioned and how disenfranchised the American electorate has become,” Baldwin told host Josh Zepps. “People are sick and tired of career politicians. They’re sick and tired of lifers inside the beltway.”

Much of Trump’s allure comes from his unabashed honesty, Baldwin added.

“[Voters] love the way he talks. I love the way he talks. I don’t like or agree with virtually everything he says, but I like the fact that when he says it, you can tell that’s his truth,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘Which way are the political trade winds blowing?’ It’s not like, ‘Have we polled this 5,000 times?’ And he’s not in the back pocket taking money, worrying about pharmaceuticals or insurance or agriculture or the legal lobby or the gun lobby.”

Baldwin also hoped the other candidates would take a cue from Trump’s “refreshing,” no-holds-barred political tone.

“We need more politicians to be able communicate this way ,and they can’t because the system is broken because of money in politics,” he said.

Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation with “Lead With Your Heart” star and producer William Baldwin here.

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By Jeff Sneider on April 9, 2015

Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray will direct and produce with his DeInstitutionalized partner Gerald Webb

The indie production company DeInstitutionalized has announced the cast for its horror movie “Minutes to Midnight,” which will be led by William Baldwin (“Gossip Girl”), Bill Moseley (“The Devil’s Rejects”), Richard Grieco (“21 Jump Street”), Dominique Swain (“Face/Off”), Viva Bianca (“Spartacus: Blood and Sand”) and Christopher Judge (“Stargate SG-1”).

Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray will direct from a script written by Christopher Don and Victoria Dadi. The director is also producing the film with his DeInstitutionalized partner Gerald Webb as well as Paul Sinor and Collen Sinor of Possum on the Half Shell Productions. Gene Valentino and Maureen Valentino of ForeverMaur Films will serve as executive producers.

Set around New Year’s Eve, “Minutes to Midnight” chronicles what happens when a night of fun turns into a night of horror.

The director’s previous films “A House Is Not a Home” and “Mercenaries,” have won several awards from genre press, while producer Webb is the casting executive behind the hit “Sharknado” franchise.

“We are beyond excited to be filming ‘Minutes to Midnight’ with this outstanding cast for genre cinema,” said Webb. “William Baldwin definitely is embracing the challenge of this out of the ordinary role and will been seen like never before. Richard Grieco brings depth and emotional maelstrom to the role of ‘Sheriff Wyatt,’ while Christopher Judge delivers his expected gravitas as only he can. And it was only fitting that we have a horror genre icon, Bill Mosley, serve to anchor the terror of the film.”

DeInstituionalized, was founded by producers Ray and Webb in 2012. The company aims to deliver creative and diverse productions that challenge stereotypes.

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By: Kelly Taylor

LOS ANGELES (FOX 11) – William Baldwin plays a dad who switches bodies with his 12-year-old son in the new film “Christmas Trade.”

He stars in the new film with Denise Richards, who was previously married to Charlie Sheen. In a sit down interview on the “Today” show, Sheen recently revealed he is HIV positive.

“I’m not here to defend him in any way, but I will say that like many that I know personally in show business and outside of show business, even members of my own family, have very complex personalities that are misunderstood,” Baldwin said about Sheen during an interview on Studio 11 LA. “I’m not defending him, and he’s a very complicated guy but he’s got some really, really wonderful, cool qualities.”

He added later:  “I’ve learned very late in life that I’m not going to judge somebody by their worst day or their worst moment.”

Baldwin, who holds a degree in political science, also spoke about the 2016 presidential landscape.

While he describes himself as a “classic, conventional Hollywood leftie,” Baldwin also believes the country is drawn to someone from the outside.

A non-political lifer like Donald Trump.

“He’s fantastic because–and I agree with virtually nothing that comes out of his mouth–but he’s fantastic because I think a lot of the support for Donald Trump isn’t support for Donald Trump. It’s a protest against a system that’s been broken for a long, long time.”

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By WENN in Movies / TV / Theatre on 27 December 2015

Backdraft Star Billy Baldwin Studied Tom Hanks‘ Body-switching Movie Big While Preparing For His New Festive Film Christmas Trade, Because He Had No Idea How To Play An 11-Year-old Boy.

In the new film, the actor plays a workaholic widower who changes places with his son in the run up to the holidays, and he admits he had to ad-lib and improvise – because he had no recollection of what it was like to be a pre-teen.

“I tried to channel all of those Tom Hanks moments in Big when he was eating the corn like a typewriter,” Baldwin explains. “It’s interesting how much stuff like that that takes the film to the next level is completely unscripted.

“Somebody walked by me with a big bowl of marshmallows at a Christmas party (in the film) and I was like, ‘Let me interpret what a 12-year-old boy would do with this gigantic bowl of marshmallows at a Christmas party.’ It led to me stuffing 19 in my mouth at the same time.”

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William Baldwin talks about the challenges his character faces in the Hallmark Channel original movie, “Lead With Your Heart”.

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Of all famed and talented Baldwin brothers who have brought everything from charisma to comedy to their respective roles over the years, in the realm of on-screen sensitivity none hold a candle to William Baldwin.  Infusing a soft sweetness and boyish grin to all his memorable work, William has brought everything from sensuality (see “Sliver” and “Fair Game!”) to boyish charm (see “Backdraft!”) to his roles over the years to create some very memorable movies indeed.  His latest project sees Baldwin going back to his days of youth past with a new holiday take on the whole body switching comedy genre in the tradition of “Vice Versa” and “Like Father, Like Son” titled “Christmas Trade.”  Baldwin plays a widowed single father who is more involved with work than his twelve-year-old son Robbie who himself is also feeling the holiday pressure.  So when a strange Christmas teddy bear shows up on their doorstep and during a heated argument they wish that the other could experience their life, they find their unconventional Christmas wish suddenly granted and comedy ensues.  We got the chance to talk one-on-one with Baldwin all about his very fun father-son flick, but also took the opportunity to dissect a bunch of his past work we simply adore.  So from “Internal Affairs” to “Flatliners,” “Three of Hearts” to “The Squid and the Whale,” Christmas comes early for past film fans as we go full on career interview with the very cool….

“Christmas Trade” follows in the tradition of both body changing flicks like “Freaky Friday” and father/son switching movies like “Vice Versa” – are you a fan of the genre?

William Baldwin: Oh, yeah.  On the one hand, you can see how easy the genre will play to its audience from a comedic standpoint, but there are also the challenges of being able to pull that off in a believable way.  So to get an eleven-year-old actor to play a forty-five-year-old man and vice versa it poses interesting challenges.  But if the writing is strong and you hire the right actors you’re halfway there.

To play the kid version of your character did you have to reach down and remember your own experiences growing up or did you and kid actor Michael Campion go over the scenes together maybe?

WB: There were different scenarios where I wasn’t thinking about it a lot ahead of time and would react when I was in the situation.  Like there’s a scene where I’m at an office Christmas party and I’m chewing on a lot of marshmallows and it’s kind of like that moment in “Big” where Tom Hanks starts eating the little piece of corn like a typewriter where I didn’t make the discovery until we were rehearsing it and blocking it and shooting it.  Of course a lot of slapstick comes from that too, like in the scene where I spill something and go to the floor to clean it up and when I’m under there I notice a girl’s legs and when I catch myself doing it I feel guilty and I go to stand up and hit my head on the bottom table – none of that was scripted.  They just had the camera down there and it was like…go. I was just thinking in the mind of a little boy – it was fun.

Of all the kid scenes you had to play which one was the funniest and most freeing?

WB: Every scene I’m in where I’m playing the boy, which is probably eighty percent of the film, every one of them was so fun.  To make little discoveries along the way and to figure out ways in which to tackle things like a little boy would do them – eating, walking – it was a joy.

I love that the doll repairman and mysterious Christmas figure is played by Tom Arnold – what were the scenes with him like to shoot?

WB: I’ve known Tom for a long time and he’s a terrific talent and a total pro.  Plus he’s an awesome guy – he walks into the room and makes everyone feel at ease.  Everyone is relaxed and having a good time when he’s around and he has this really charming and disarming way of making you feel relaxed and at home.

Early on you worked on one of my and I heard Richard Gere’s favorite films “Internal Affairs” – what was it like going toe-to-toe with Richard?

WB: It was great.  I made that film in 1989 and I remember it like it was yesterday. There was a scene that we were shooting and Richard was pacing back and forth and he was doing these relaxation exercises.  And we were doing a scene where he walks down the hallway to our commanding officer and he takes a clipboard from the guy and jots down his initials and they have a one line exchange.  But he’s doing these yoga relaxation breathing exercises and I thought this is interesting that after all these years he’s still this focused.  This was one of my first gigs – to me I thought the scene would be a walk in the park.  But he cared about everything; the big scenes, the little scenes, every little detail.  And he was so conscious of every little wrinkle of what we were doing.  Both he and Andy Garcia went way out of their way to make me feel comfortable and make me feel at home to help elevate my work.

What’s really interesting about that film is personally – and I don’t know if Richard would say this – I think that “Internal Affairs” and his performance in the film more, critical than commercial, was what opened the door and allowed for him to do “Pretty Woman.” And of course after “Pretty Woman” he was right back in the days of “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “American Gigolo” where we was at the apex of the industry and that set the tone for the next twenty years.  “Internal Affairs” and “Pretty Woman” are what made Richard and his work relevant in a way that has been incredible to see the run of ever since.

The cast of the stylistic “Flatliners” was a who’s who of upcoming talent that all went on to do even more amazing things – did you get a sense when you were making that movie that the cast was something special?

WB: Well, I knew Kevin Bacon because he had worked with my brother Alec and he was wonderful to work with.  Oliver Platt went onto become one of my huge staying meaningful relationships and he was in my wedding party.  I live on the West Coast now and he’s still in New York, so we don’t get as much time together, but he’s a wonderful guy and a terrific talent – so big and hysterically funny.  And Julia and I were actually very good friends before we did “Flatliners” for a couple of years.  I’ve lost touch with her over the years, but look at that career.  It was one of the great leading female careers in the modern era – she was really talented and really blessed.  And I’ve worked with Kiefer Sutherland a couple of times since and he’s amazing.  A lot of it is just born of his personal experience – you see all of the complexities of his personality coming through his eyes and his work.  I’ve worked with his dad Donald too on a couple of films together and he played my father on “Dirty Sexy Money” for two seasons.

There’s a witty quality to the script for “Three of Hearts” that elevates it from other films like it – is that what initially drew you to the project?

WB: I love that movie because with “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Flatliners” and with “Backdraft” and particularly with “Three of Hearts” I read the script and finished it thinking I certainly have never been in this movie and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this movie.  I loved when I got the script for “Flatliners” where medical school students are conducting these experiments where they’re using death as a vehicle to explore the meaning of life – that was a showstopper for me right there.  I closed the script and said that’s a very interesting part for me, a very cool script for everybody involved and I’ve never seen that movie.  I felt the same way about “Three of Hearts.”  To have a woman hire a male escort to meddle in her relationship with her lover Sherilyn Fenn, to get her to fall for me and to break her heart to have her go running back to the waiting arms of Kelly Lynch is her strategy?  I had never seen that film.

After such a great film and even a long running Universal Studios show the fire effects for “Backdraft” looked amazing and dangerous – how close did you actually get to it while shooting and any close calls?

WB: We were in the fire non-stop.  They were doing fire tests where they would shoot with a long lens and put us ten feet behind a fire bar to create the optical illusion that we were closer, but it looked like crap.  And so when we put this fire gel on our bodies with all the gear, we were able to do a lot of stuff where we were actually coming in physical contact with the fire.  Some materials burn at 400 degrees, but some materials burn at 1200 degrees, so that was difficult to get really close to.  But we put the actors and the camera operator and the DP and director right in the heat in every action sequence in that movie.  We had a couple of close calls like where I burned my eyes in an underwater sequence where I had to open my eyes underwater and there were chemicals in the water and also the time where there was a fire canon that was deployed a little bit prematurely and I got some singed eyebrows and eyelashes on that one, but, for the most part, it was completely safety first.  But I think there was one scene in the entire movie where they used my stunt double and I think that was because of the insurance company being on set.

Having been in steamy scenes in films like “Sliver” with Sharon Stone and “Fair Game” with Cindy Crawford, I have to ask you what makes a great love scene?

WB: I can’t really figure it out – sometimes it’s luck.  The way it’s shot and lit is really big.  The music is really big too.  But sometimes you show a lot and it’s hot and really works well and sometimes it’s what you don’t show and leave to the imagination that can be great too.  But I do remember particularly doing love scenes with Cindy Crawford and wanting to make sure that we both felt comfortable because she had never done a film before.  But she had done modeling gigs where she was doing commercials with good look

Having been in early Noah Baumbach film “The Squid and the Whale” what kind of director was Noah?

WB: He’s very bright and very talented.  He’s a well-educated Brooklyn Jew, which is what the movie was about and it was loosely based on his upbringing.  But here I was working with Anna Paquin and Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney and Jesse Eisenberg and Noah and it was a real treat.  I hope I get the chance to work with Noah again and also hope to work on that kind of a project again.  It was a dark movie – there was some dark shit that goes on in that movie.  And it was dark, but also smart and really well performed and funny.  It’s one of the few big surprises in my career because I didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into.  When we were making that film we thought we were making a cool little clever, witty, charming, smart indie, but you release these things and you never know where they’re going to go.  I remember some people not getting it.  I remember I saw “The War of the Roses” and there were people who didn’t go through a divorce or a bad relationship with their parents that thought that movie was great and hilariously darkly delicious.  My parents didn’t have the greatest relationship and I saw that movie and I walked out on it.  And I almost stood up and wanted to scream and shout before I left.  I wanted to say, ‘What is wrong with you people?  How dare you – this isn’t funny.’  That movie – it just pushed the wrong button in me based on my personal experience.  And some people have that reaction to “The Squid and the Whale” where they didn’t get why it was funny.  But we go to Sundance and we get picked up by Sony Classics and they release it and does well.  Critically it made several hundred Top Ten lists and to this day many people say to me they love “The Squid and the Whale” and it really resonated with them and it’s great to hear.

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William “Billy” Baldwin has been working in film and television since his 20s, thanks, he says, to a burning desire to follow in brother Alec Baldwin‘s footsteps.

He has played the intrepid, the mean, the sweetheart, the well-behaved, and the helpless romantic. In his latest project, the Hallmark movie Be My Valentine, Billy gives life to a young, widowed father—and dating advisor—of his teenage son. In this story about self-discovery and ageless love, they are both searching for that special someone. Billy recently sat down with us for this exclusive interview to talk about the movie, his dream career path, and the importance of being close to his family.

Don’t miss the premiere of Be My Valentine on February 9 at 9 p.m. on the Hallmark Channel (Ch. 312).

We’re very excited about your new Hallmark film Be My Valentine. Tell us, what drew you to this role?

WB: Work! Well, that’s part of it. No, I read the script and I was very moved by it. Definitely touched by it. It’s a very sweet piece, right up Hallmark’s alley. They are doing great stuff and I had never done one with them before. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Had a great time with my crew up in Canada. And Graham, my director, we had a very nice time. Recently I’ve done a lot of comedy. The Squid and the Whale years ago and I did Dirty Sexy Money and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 30 Rock, and I’ve done very muscular, action-oriented stuff like Hawaii Five-0. I just thought it was nice to go back to what got me started in this in the first place, which is human emotion, the words. Working with my fellow actors and our director to try to breathe life into it. I was drawn to it. It didn’t have all the bells and whistles. This was just about the actors and the words. That’s nice.

This is not your typical Valentine’s Day movie. It’s very down to earth, which audiences will find very refreshing.

WB: Yes, I think Bill Abbott over at Hallmark has a team of people who are really diversifying more. They have talk shows and a different variety of content, which they didn’t have before. They’re making a lot of movies—they made forty movies last year, they’re making another forty this year. I think it feels like they’re more cutting edge. I’m not saying they are controversial movies, like Oliver Stone, but they are offering more dynamic content.

Be My Valentine follows two parallel love stories and I find that anyone can identify with this movie, regardless of age. It is interesting to see this man—who doesn’t view love as a priority—finding love again. Do you think love changes as we grow older?

WB: I think it’s the trap people fall into. They want love at 15 or 20 years to feel the way it felt at 18 months. And it doesn’t. And they want to feel like they felt in junior high school and it doesn’t. When you’re with somebody for 11, 17, 25 years, it involves that you are in a very different place. Just because you feel different doesn’t mean the relationship is over, that there is a problem, or that you’re not in love anymore. It takes on a different feeling, a different direction. A lot of people just flush the relationship down the toilet. That’s a horrible thing to do, especially when you have kids involved. Why is that necessary? I think finding love the second time around is hard, especially for anyone who has lost a spouse or people who have been divorced. My mother-in-law lost her husband when she was in her late 40s—she was my age—and she never met anybody else. Never had companionship. Never had a relationship. It’s sad. I think it’s great to be able to have a relationship as part of your life. We all yearn for that.

Another thing I noticed is the role technology plays in romance. Your idea of a nice gesture is making a mix tape. I mean, who even makes mix tapes these days? Do you think technology is killing romance? Or is it just transforming it?

WB: Oh please, yeah! It’s exciting and dangerous. I mean dangerous—exhilarating and dangerous—the great unknown. When I was a kid growing up, when you created a personal page seeking romance and companionship there was something wrong with you. But today, if you don’t do that there is something wrong. More and more people are meeting each other through Match.com and ChristianMingle.com and all that junk. Technology has revolutionized how we go about pursuing relationships. I think it’s cool. Of course, it can be dangerous too. There’s cyber-bullying and a lot of perverts out there. You have to be careful.

You work closely with Christian Martyn [he plays Tyler on Be My Valentine], who is amazing and natural on film. What is it like working with such young talents? Do they ever ask for advice?

WB: Yeah, though I don’t really sit there, direct him and coach him. I do try to lead by example. Communicating with him and the rest of the cast and the crew. Kids have a tendency to rehearse a lot with their teachers, with their mother, and they come to the set with their performance locked in. Their acting is reacting. A lot of times you have kids making sure they’re saying the lines the cool way. Sometimes it doesn’t always match with what I’m saying or how I’m saying it. You’ve got to make sure they’re listening and reacting to what I’m saying and how that moves them. If they’re listening, then you can get a really beautiful and organic performance.

We know that your weren’t always an actor. What moved you to make the switch?

WB: My brother [Alec Baldwin] was doing it. He was very successful and I thought that was cool. I went to college and studied Political Science. After college, I worked briefly and was involved in politics—I interned in Capitol Hill. I still continue to do some philanthropy and charity work, not as much political work as I did 10 years ago, but I really should get back into that business. Get into more political activism as well. But basically we all saw what my brother was doing and I thought it was really cool. I thought, why not give it a try?

You were on 30 Rock, working with Alec. Have you ever thought about doing something with all the Baldwin brothers? Do you ever talk about it?

WB: No, we don’t. I’d like to do it but it would have to be the right project and nothing has come along, unfortunately. We’ll see. We talked about doing a Western movie about 15 years ago. That never happened. The money never came together.

Is there a role that you fantasize about?

WB: No. There is a dream situation that I’d love to be in. I would love to be in a situation like what I had with Dirty Sexy Money, where I was in a great part on a great show where everyone was positive about it. It was an ensemble cast, so I didn’t have to work every day. I had really fun, challenging stuff to do in my performance. I worked with incredible actors. I shot in L.A., so I was going back and forth from Santa Barbara three days a week. I’d like to be on a show that would allow me to make money and still be with my family. That’s the ideal scenario. I mean I’d love to be nominated and win an award—that would be so cool to be recognized in that way—but I wouldn’t want to sacrifice what I have with my kids and not be with them for a long stretch of time. That wouldn’t work. My dream situation is that in which I’m on this cool, fun, hit show and I can still tuck my kids in at night.

You’ve just wrapped up Gossip Girl. What was it like playing the role of Dr. William Van Der Woodsen?

WB: It was fun, it was cool. You know, I  moved to New York while shooting the part for Gossip Girl. That brought me back to New York. I was in a recurring role as Serena’s father, Dr. Van Der Woodsen, and it’s funny because I wasn’t in New York for two or three months at a time. I would fly and be there for 10 days, come back and so on. They gave me naughty, dysfunctional, perverted stuff to work on. It’s good when they give you something juicy to do. And I was born and raised in New York so every time I go back there I see all my friends from my hometown— college buddies, family. It was great being back in the old neighborhood.

You’ve been married for more than 20 years, which is amazing. Do you continue to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

WB: I’ve been married for 17 years but I’ve been with my wife for 22 years. We do celebrate. It’s not like it once was. We have three kids now. But you still have to set aside the time and the effort to make sure you’re taking care of each other.

Now we’re going to do a little game. I’m going to give you two options, related to our conversation, and you have to pick one. TV or Film?

WB: Am I choosing between Matt Damon‘s film career and Alec Baldwin’s TV career? Obviously, at 50-years old, with kids and a wife, I want a steady gig. TV is the one that makes more sense. When you finish a film you’re back on the unemployment line and you don’t know if you’re working again for a month or three or a year. In TV, when you’re in Season 2 and you know you’re doing two or more seasons, that’s a dream scenario. If I had a movie career and could just hit cruise control, know that I could be making one or two movies a year for the next 10 years, that’s a lot of fun. TV is a lot of work and a lot of hours. My dream would be to be in a great cable TV show and you’re on HBO, USA, FX, or Showtime, do one of those 12-episode seasons. You know? Something cool, cutting-edge. Like Mad Men, working with great actors. To work five or six months and then do a movie or a play the rest of the time.

Romance or Suspense?

WB: Romance. I like thrillers and action. I would choose drama over romance. But romance over suspense, for sure.

To play the bad guy or the good guy?

WB: Usually to play the bad guy, but I’ve been the bad guy on Gossip Girl, on Hawaii Five-0, I’ve been the bad guy for so long. I’m glad to be playing the good guy on the Hallmark Channel. But the bad guy is more fun!

Flowers or Candy?

WB: Neither! Sex.

Sunny California or Sunny New York?

WB: That’s a hard one to answer. I’ve lived my whole life in New York and we came over here [to California] five years ago. We love it here so much. I don’t see us going back right now. I don’t miss it enough to go back. With kids it would be hard to go back, they have their social scene… I would say sunny California. If you said sunny Los Angeles vs. Sunny New York City? I’d say New York City.

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By: Richard Ouzounian Theatre Critic, Published on Fri Nov 22 2013

Meet William, the “nice” Baldwin brother.

And although a member of the Wrestling Hall of Fame as rugged and straight-shooting as he is would probably cringe at being described as “nice,” he’d have to admit that he’s never found his name splashed across the headlines for uttering homophobic slurs (Alec), being arrested for cocaine addiction (Daniel) or preaching evangelical Christianity (Stephen).

Billy, as his friends call him, is the kind of man who’d rather kick back on the patio of his hotel, enjoy a solitary brewski and talk about his guest appearance as Tammany Hall fixer, Wild Bill Eustace, on the final two episodes of Copper, starting Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. on Showcase.

“I love the whole period this show is set in,” says Baldwin, alluding to mid-19th century Manhattan where the show takes place. “There’s never been a political association as powerful as Tammany Hall was and there never was a character in U.S. history simultaneously more corrupt and yet more loved than Boss Tweed, who held the reins of power for many years.”

“I’m one of his henchmen, a fixer and they bring me in to clean things up, which I always enjoy doing.”

Baldwin laughs, but he has developed a reputation lately for being the go-to guy when you need someone to fill out a multiple-episode track in your regular series. Parenthood, Gossip Girl and Hawaii Five-O have all benefitted from “the Baldwin bump” in recent years.

“A show like Copper, I couldn’t be a regular on, even though I love the subject and the people who are working on it. But I can’t uproot my family for five months at a time and I can’t stay away from them for that long either.”

Baldwin has been married to Chynna Phllips (from Wilson Phillips) since 1995 and they have three kids: Jameson, 13, Vance, 11, and Brooke, 9.

“If I have a choice between my family and my work, my family wins out every time. My lack of embracing the show business world is what’s kept me as solid as I am. In fact, I deliberately distance myself from show biz, because it makes me feel more safe, more stable.”

He takes a sip of beer and then edges into difficult territory.

“My brother Alec has said – both publicly and privately – a number of times that I’ve forgone my career to have a certain kind of relationship with my family and I don’t deny it. Alec has chosen his profession and it’s paid off for him. I don’t even want to think how much he’s grossed in his life. Certainly well over $100 million.

“Me, I don’t need that much. I was one of six kids of a high school teacher who made $19,000 a year, so I can get impressed with a much lower figure.”

As the conversation continues, it becomes obvious that Baldwin doesn’t have much to say about Stephen and Daniel, but he and Alec are very much a part of each other’s lives.

“Alec was the oldest, the first one of us to go into show business. I don’t know what motivated my other two brothers, but for me, I saw Alec on TV acting in a soap opera and I said to myself, ‘If this schmuck can do it, anybody can.’”

But that realization didn’t immediately plunge Baldwin into following his brother’s career path.

“I was at Binghamton University then, studying poli sci. I thought I would become a lawyer, then go onto Washington and maybe become a watchdog for some government agency.”

It obviously didn’t work out that way.

Between 1989 and 1991, he landed roles in The Preppie Murders, Flatliners, Internal Affairs, Backdraft and Born on the Fourth of July, striking up friendships with some of the biggest names in the business, many of whom he’s still close to today.

“When you’re the kid whose Dad is a history teacher in Massapequa and suddenly you’re hanging out with Chaz Palminteri at a BBQ at Marty Scorsese’s house, it can do strange things to your head. It’s like a roller coaster. It’s fun while you’re doing it, but before you get on, it looks a little scary. Is this what I want my life to become.

“Then I came to realize that you didn’t have to buy into all the crap that went with it. You could try and take things on your own terms.”

As for the path of excess which has ruined many and played a significant part in his brothers Daniel and Stephen’s lives, he’s clear-eyed and realistic.

“Self destruction. You’re either wired that way or not. You don’t have to be in show business to have problems with drugs or alcohol. They just never appealed to me. You’ve got to keep everything in perspective. I’ve been very lucky in life, I’ve had many blessings. The opportunities I’ve been given, the parts, the films, the directors. I don’t take any of that for granted.”

So instead of tearing up the town, Baldwin channels his energies into other areas. He helped to found and spent several years chairing The Creative Coalition, a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group staffed by people from the entertainment industry.

But as someone who’s chosen family over show business, how would he feel if his kids went into the profession?

“My kids in show business? I’m not pressuring them either way. I would be shocked if all three of them did. I would hope that all three of them don’t. But if they do, I won’t look back with regret.”

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Jordyn Reiland | jordyn.reiland@lee.net Sep 12, 2015

SKANEATELES | A gallery in Skaneateles welcomed the Baldwin family for the kickoff of a silent and eBay auction Saturday afternoon, where proceeds will go to The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY.

William and Beth Baldwin visited the Skaneateles Artisans Gallery Under the Stone, 3 Fennell St., to tour the gallery and thank the artists for their donations.

The gallery, which has more than 90 different artists, donated at least 46 pieces for the auction. The event is an outgrowth of the fund’s inaugural 12-week national campaign Pink Outside the Box.

“This Pink Outside the Box idea is great because it’s truly all inclusive,” William Baldwin said. “You can have a lemonade stand, you can have a car wash, you can have local artisans donating a percentage of their sales, or you can do another big auction, another big dinner, another big golf tournament.”

The auction will run until the end of October.

One Syracuse multi-medium artist Candace O’Brien spoke of her husband Thomas O’Brien’s latest treatment with lung cancer. She said he wanted to be in attendance but was unable to because he had just completed a chemotherapy treatment on Monday.

“I feel it’s a great opportunity for the community to come together,” Candace O’Brien said. “When the community comes together, opportunities are much greater.”

She said she donated a piece of photography she took in San Diego of a bouquet of flowers she saw at a local market.

Local artist Ed Levine, who has been with the group since its inception, said he thought the event was fabulous and was impressed by what the Baldwin family had to say.

“I hope that our pieces raise a lot of money,” he said. Levine enjoys painting watercolors, mostly of the Skaneateles Lake.

William Baldwin said he is especially fond of events like these and the Pink Outside the Box campaign overall because it’s something different.

“After a while certain fundraising endeavors become stale, and they become tired. To come up with a new and innovative and if I may, Pink Outside the Box way to raise money, I love it,” he said.

Owner Teresa Vitale said she was thrilled to partner with Pink Outside the Box and the Baldwin family because of the impact cancer has on so many people’s lives.

“It was an easy sell because I would say 75 percent of the artists here are experiencing, either a family member, or a partner, or themselves, a type of cancer,” she said. “That’s the beauty of it. It’s people helping people.”

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Kari Matchett, Steven Love, and Amy Forsyth Co-Star ove guides the way when William Baldwin (“Be My Valentine,” “Gossip Girl”) stars in “Lead With Your Heart,” a two-hour Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere August 29, 2015 (9PM ET/PT, 8C).  Baldwin is also an executive producer on the film, which tells the story of a happily married couple.

Baldwin is also an executive producer on the film, which tells the story of a happily married couple facing life-changing decisions as they prepare for their next chapter in their marriage.  Along with Baldwin, Kari Matchett (“Covert Affairs”), Steven Love (“Solo”), and Amy Forsyth (“Defiance”) star in this heartwarming romance.

“William Baldwin has long been a friend of the network, and brings his quintessential leading man grace to every production,” said Michelle Vicary, Executive Vice President, Programming and Publicity, Crown Media Family Networks.  “We are thrilled that he is lending his talent both on camera in the starring role, and behind the scenes as an executive producer in ‘Lead With Your Heart.’”

With their youngest son leaving for college in the fall, happily married couple Ben (Baldwin) and Maura (Matchett) prepare for their upcoming chapter as empty nesters.  The couple faces an even larger change when Maura takes a temporary position – and big promotion – in Minneapolis. Ben and Maura miss one another while living apart, but the distance also shines a light on their differences like never before.  When Maura’s temporary position becomes a full time offer, the couple must decide if they will continue their long distance marriage, or make another change.  With the support of their son, Adam (Love) and

With the support of their son, Adam (Love) and daughter, Lacey (Forsyth), Ben and Maura must follow their hearts to make the right decision for their family, and to make this next chapter in their lives a happy one.

“Lead With Your Heart” is a LWH77 Productions, Inc. production.  Howard Braunstein, William Baldwin and Scott Anderson are the executive producers.  David Anselmo is the supervising producer and Steve Solomos is the producer.  Bradley Walsh directs from a script by J.B. White.

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