'I've kept it very private for years and years': Alec Baldwin reveals how he overdosed on drugs in his twenties gave up booze at 27 - and may now quit his legendary SNL Trump impersonation
- Alec Baldwin told GMA that he overdosed on drugs while in his 20s
- He became sober on February 23, 1985, right before he turned 27
- His memoir, 'Nevertheless,' will be released on April 4
- Also told Press Association that he may retire Donald Trump impersonation soon
- Said: 'I don't think people will be in the mood to laugh about it come September'
Alec Baldwin has admitted he overdosed in his twenties.
The 58-year-old actor struggled with substance abuse issues over 30 years ago and in his new memoir, Nevertheless, he opens up about his close call.
Speaking on Good Morning America about the book, he explained: 'I think I was one of the people who was lucky that it stuck, and therefore if I didn't get it then, I think I would've got it eventually.'
His book, which goes on sale April 4, comes as he said he may retire his impersonation of US President Donald Trump soon.
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Past: Alec Baldwin has admitted he overdosed on drugs in his twenties
Baldwin, pictured in 1990 in Miami Blues, said: 'Those two years that I lived in that white hot period as a daily drug abuser, as a daily drinker, to my misery, boy that was a tough time'
The end? Alec Baldwin has suggested Donald Trump is 'satire resistant' as he confirmed he may retire his impersonation of the president in a few weeks
Then and now: Alec is now married to second wife Hilaria, with whom he shares three children
Regarding his drug overdose, he told George Stephanopoulos: 'I know that at that time, what I describe — overdosing on drugs — which I've kept very private for years and years. But, I'm glad I got it when I did because not many people get sober when they're young.'
He revealed that he got sober just as he was about to turn 27, on February 23, 1985.
'And those two years that I lived in that white hot period as a daily drug abuser, as a daily drinker, to my misery, boy that was a tough time,' he said.
'There was really really, a lot of pain in there... a lot of pain.'
In a previous interview with actor Christopher Kennedy Lawford, Baldwin discussed how he would recover from his drug-and-alcohol binges by playing video games, particularly Galaga, at an arcade warehouse.
After a night out, Baldwin would recover by playing video games from 9am to 11am. He would then go to sleep, Gawker reported.
Baldwin said: 'This was the only way I could go "beta" and go into that state I needed to be, where I could calm down and take my mind off everything.
'I didn't want to see anybody, deal with anybody.'
Baldwin, pictured in Miami Blues, would play the arcade game Galaga at a local parlor to come down from his binges in the mid-80s
Baldwin, pictured as a young man, has three children with his wife Hilaria - daughter Carmen, 3, and sons Rafael, 1, and Leonardo, who was born in September 2016. He was previously married to actress Kim Basinger
But one individual who he did see - Julian, the arcade's owner - helped him turn his life around.
Baldwin said: 'Julian would put the key in the lock and open the door, and he would just kind of look at me like, "Wow, I'm glad I'm not you."'
Baldwin recalled that he would then say: 'You got no idea, Julian. Julian, I need you. I need you to get that key and open the f***ing door and let me in. I got to play Galaga.'
Baldwin got sober on February 23, 1985 - a bit before he turned 27. Baldwin is 58 years old
In another excerpt from his memoir, Alec revealed he 'fell in love' with Tina Fey when he first met her.
The star - who has been married to his wife, a yoga instructor named Hilaria, since 2012 - first met Tina over a decade ago when she was working as the head writer on sketch show 'Saturday Night Live', and has admitted he was immediately taken by her 'smart and funny' persona, and was disheartened to learn she was married.
Speaking about the first time he met Tina - who married composer and producer Jeff Richmond in 2001 - Alec said: 'When I first met Tina Fey - beautiful and brunette, smart and funny, by turns smug and diffident and completely uninterested in me or anything I had to say - I had the same reaction that I'm sure many men and women have: I fell in love.
'Tina was then the head writer at "Saturday Night Live," and I was hosting that week's show.
Memoir: The 58-year-old actor struggled with substance abuse issues over 30 years ago; ON Friday's GMA he opened up about his close call
Baldwin, pictured aged 22 in 1980, also discussed the first time he met Tina Fey
'I asked Marci Klein, who coordinated the talent, if Tina was single. She pointed to a man sitting along the wall. Or maybe he was standing? This was Jeff Richmond, Tina's husband. Jeff is diminutive. Tina describes him as "travel-size." When I saw him, I thought, "What's she doing with him?"'
But the Beetlejuice actor admits he didn't feel jealous of Jeff for long, as when he teamed up with the married couple to work on hit comedy 30 Rock in 2006, he saw that the 56 year old was 'talented' and 'outgoing.'
He added: 'When I ended up working with the two of them years later, on 30 Rock, of which Tina was writer, producer, and star, I changed that to 'What's he doing with her?'
'Jeff, who was the talented composer and music supervisor on 30 Rock, is as loose and outgoing as Tina is cautious and dry. "Just remember one thing," Lorne [Michaels] said. "She's German."'
Baldwin has three children with his wife Hilaria - daughter Carmen, 3, and sons Rafael, 1, and Leonardo, who was born in September 2016.
He was previously married to actress Kim Basinger from 1993 to 2002, with who he has a 21-year-old daughter named Ireland, who is also an actress.
Surf's up! Ireland Baldwin kicked bikini season off as she was spotted during a photo shoot on the beach in Malibu on Tuesday
Meanwhile, asked how much longer he intended to play Donald Trump, Baldwin told the Press Association: 'Not much longer.
'This season on SNL ... I'm going to do it as much as I can because I love them. They're my dear friends.
'After that, I don't quite know. I don't quite know if people want to continue with that.
'If everything stays the same in this country as it is now, I don't think people will be in the mood to laugh about it come September.
'We'll be around the corner to the one-year anniversary of the election this fall. I think people will be in a completely different frame of mind.
'We'll see if this is actually the first satire-resistant president.'
Baldwin acknowledged his impression was not the most accurate version but said he performs a 'caricature of a more malicious Trump.'
'I suppose if I spent some time I might be able to refine my impersonation of him,' he said.
Baldwin, pictured playing Trump on SNL, has helped SNL achieve some of its highest ratings in years
Baldwin's portrayal of the president has helped the US sketch show to its highest ratings in years, while Mr Trump has branded the impression 'mean spirited.'
He also said he would have to be paid 'an ungodly amount of money' to play Mr Trump in a film or on stage.
'I don't know if I'd want to be Trump for more than a five-minute slug of time on Saturday Night Live,' the actor said.
'You'd have to pay me an ungodly amount of money because it would be exhausting. It would be tiresome.'
Baldwin was speaking as he promoted new Dreamworks animation The Boss Baby.
He voices the film's title character, a suit-wearing baby who works as a secret agent in a hidden war between babies and puppies.
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