Stephen Baldwin Biography
Summary
"Stephen Andrew Baldwin" (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor, known for his role in the 1995 ensemble film "The Usual Suspects". He is the youngest of the acting Baldwin brothers, with brothers Daniel, William, and Alec.
Biography
Early life
Baldwin was born in Massapequa, New York, the son of Carol Newcomb (née Martineau) and Alexander Rae Baldwin, Jr., a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach. He is the brother of notable actors Daniel, William and Alec, sometimes collectively known as the Baldwin brothers. Baldwin was raised in a Catholic family of Irish and French descent.
Career
After high school, Baldwin attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts for one year, but was not invited back for a second year. He got small parts in shows like Kate and Allie and Family Ties before landing his first serious feature film role in the 1988 film The Beast. That role led to other parts in the 1989 films Last Exit to Brooklyn and Born on the Fourth of July, as well as the television series The Young Riders. In 1995, he landed a possible breakthrough role in The Usual Suspects. Baldwin's next role, was in 1996's Bio-Dome
In 2002, Baldwin participated in "Celebrity Mole Hawaii", the first celebrity edition of "The Mole". ABC broadcast the reality show in early 2003. Later that year he returned for "Celebrity Mole Yucatan", which ABC aired in early 2004. In 2004, he became the host of another reality show "Scare Tactics", which was broadcast on The Sci Fi Channel.
In 2004, Baldwin directed and produced "Livin' It", a film that focused on Christian athletes involved in extreme sports and evangelism, with Luis Palau's son, Kevin. In 2006, he released a book "The Unusual Suspect"—the title playing on his most successful movie role—which details his renewed stance on Christianity. It made it onto the "New York Times" bestseller list.
In August 2007, Baldwin was back on television when CMT cast him in "Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge". He was among nine celebrities cast on the show. In the first episode, Baldwin was injured after taking a bad fall from a bull, breaking his shoulder blade and cracking a rib. Under doctor's orders, he had to give up going to Nashville and left the show in the second episode. He returned for the last episode in Nashville to support the other riders and was given a rodeo buckle by Ty Murray, along with the other riders, for his attempt.
Personal life
Baldwin was baptized a Roman Catholic, but became a born-again Christian in the Evangelical church shortly after the September 11 attacks. Since converting, he is on a mission to evangelize the youth of the nation through projects such as (The Breakthrough Ministry) , which involves skateboarding and extreme sports, Christian rock concerts, laser light shows and fireworks. He talks frequently about his conversion experience, which involved a middle-aged Brazilian housekeeper.
He currently resides in the village of Nyack, New York, with his wife, Kennya, and their family. In 2006, he launched a campaign to prevent an adult bookstore from opening on the outskirts of the village. After mobilizing much of the county's religious base to the cause, Baldwin lent his support to a petition filed in New York Supreme Court by a group calling itself the Catholic Citizenship, and succeeded in quashing the store. Many of the residents in this quite liberal town were not happy with what they saw as Baldwin's self-serving efforts. In 2006 and 2007 he has made calls to the radio talk show "Lionel", the host of which advocates a skeptical view of religion, to tell his story and promote Christianity.
Filmography
1988 - "The Beast"
1989 - "The Young Riders"
1989 - "Last Exit to Brooklyn"
1989 - "Born on the Fourth of July"
1992 - "Crossing the Bridge"
1993 - "Posse"
1994 - "A Simple Twist of Fate"
1994 - "8 Seconds"
1994 - "Threesome"
1994 - "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle"
1995 - "Dead weekend"
1995 - "The Usual Suspects"
1996 - "Bio-Dome"
1996 - "Fled"
1996 - "Crimetime"
1998 - "Half Baked"
1998 - "One Tough Cop"
1998 - "Scarred City"
1999 - "Absence of the Good"
1999 - "The Sex Monster"
1999 - "Friends & Lovers"
2000 - "Cutaway"
2000 - "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas"
2001 - "Spider's Web"
2001 - "Dead Awake"
2001 - "XChange"
2001 - "Zebra Lounge"
2001 - "Protection"
2002 - "Silent Warnings"
2002 - "Greenmail"
2002 - "Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice"
2003 - "Celebrity Mole Hawaii" (TV Series)
2003 - "Scare Tactics" (TV series)
2003 - "Firefight"
2003 - "Shelter Island"
2004 - "Celebrity Mole Yucatan" (TV Series)
2004 - "Six: The Mark Unleashed"
2004 - "Livin' It" (DVD)
2004 - "Target"
2005 - "Bound by Lies"
2005 - "The Snake King"
2006 - "The Flyboys"
2006 - "The Genius Club
2006 - "Livin' It LA" (DVD)
2006 - Dark Storm (TV - SciFi Channel)
2006 - "Earthstorm" (TV - SciFi Channel)
2007 - "Stan Lee's The Harpies
2007 - "Fred Claus"
External links
(Livin It - The Action Sports Ministry that Baldwin co-founded)
(Article about Baldwin's quest to close a porn store in Nyack) , from Rockland Magazine.
(Stephen Baldwin and America's Culture War) An article by Alexander Osang featured in Der Spiegel, 04 August 2006
(KSEX, Baldwin Debate Fizzles) An article by Steve Javors on XFANZ.com
AOL Books (interview) on his book The Unusual Suspect (2006)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Stephen Baldwin.
