NBC/Will Heath(NEW YORK) — Alec Baldwin has revealed that he almost passed on playing President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live.
The actor told Vanity Fair for its April cover story that he originally passed on SNL producer Lorne Michaels’ offer to play Trump but changed his mind after a film role fell through.
“I was supposed to do a film. And the people who were doing the film were supposed to escrow money to guarantee that I would get paid,” he said in a video accompanying the cover story. “And they didn’t put the money in escrow. And that’s when I hung up and said I’m not going to go do the movie and I’m going to go do the thing with Lorne. And I think to myself, ‘What if I hadn’t done that?’ … It’s turned out to be this incredible opportunity.”
Baldwin’s impression has been so popular that he has parlayed it into an upcoming satirical book and made his record 17th appearance as host of SNL earlier this year.
In the magazine, he talks about playing Trump, working with SNL stars Kate McKinnon and Tina Fey, and starring in the best role of his life in his new memoir Nevertheless, due out next month.
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