Sitting down with the Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week, Alec Baldwin addressed speculation linking him with an appearance at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Having portrayed the President numerous times on the skit show Saturday Night Live, many saw him as a suitable replacement to fill the chair left vacant by the POTUS.
The 58-year old Beetlejuice star is taking time out from his voiceover work in the upcoming feature Arctic Justice: Thunder Squad. While also landing a role in the Netflix series Julie's Room, hinting that he could make a shock appearance. As the entertainment industry ponders the significance of the event without the man in question at the table, Baldwin discussed the topic and why he would consider it.
The Parody Was Not Thought Through - AB
With SNL desperate to get someone on the program to spoof the Republican candidate in 2016, Baldwin admitted that he was apprehensive about the part. Not really understanding how he would go about the portrayal.
"I would never imitate him or have anything to do with it - Lorne (Michaels producer) called me and said, 'do you want to do this?' and I go 'no, I don't want to be Trump on tv.' Because anytime you have a moment of mimicry, it's usually somebody that you appreciate... I didn't hate Trump I just said, 'Ah, I didn't want to do that.' Tina (Fey) and Lorne kind of pushed me to do it. You've seen SNL. The moment the stage manager takes me to my mark on the first dress rehearsal at 8 o'clock, I had no idea what I was going to do. Literally the moment I walked out there I just said to myself, 'eyebrow up,' I tried to stick my face out. I was in the makeup room putting my wig on and literally it was like a scene from a mental hospital. I'm sitting there putting the wig on and I'm going, 'China! China!' I'm trying to do it again and again so it becomes - so you don't think about it, you just do it."
Having taken the mantle as the best and most high profile Trump impersonator, how would a spot at the White House Correspondents Dinner fit?
"There's a guy whose on the Internet, it's interesting how - now that he's not going to the White House Correspondents Dinner, there are people who are lobbying to play Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner. I wouldn't say I'm not lobbying but people would say, 'would you do it?' and there are a couple of guys on the Internet who are like, 'no, please. I'm the only man who should play Trump.' So there's a lot of Trump competition and I got sucked into this."
Cursing and Complaining - The Two Cs Alec Might Give Up Over Lent
With the annual religious tradition of Lent coming around, Baldwin remarked to Kimmel that he and his wife have two different thoughts on what the veteran actor should give up.
"It's indicative of who you are, people reflect back to you who you are when they tell you what you should give up for Lent," he remarked. "So I'll way to my wife, 'what should I give up for Lent?' and my wife was like, 'complaining'... I try from time to time - you're (Kimmel) catholic - so am I, and I try to think of things. Years ago it would be cursing and saying bad words. I'd do pretty well for a while and then you go - even Jesus under these circumstances, you know. Even he would get freaked out. Guy steals a parking spot and you're like 'beep!'"
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