Alec sits down with director Stephen Daldry, whose new movie, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," opens on Christmas Day.

Stephen offers a window into his past – from training as a clown and driving giraffes through Pompeii to being serenaded with Billy Elliot songs by a persistent Elton John. Alec and Stephen trade notes on acting styles -- and whether being Mayor – of New York or London – would be satisfying. Stephen says he makes work “to change the world;” Alec’s no longer sure change is possible. 

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The first time acclaimed director Stephen Daldry was expected to shout “Action!” he thought it was a joke. Alec met with Stephen Daldry in 2011, weeks before his intimate, post-9/11 drama, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, opened. Daldry’s work is precise and intimate, but in conversation with Alec he was passionate about a wide variety of topics, including communal living, the virtues of mass transit, and the Olympics.  

READ | Interview Transcript

Chris Rock says he "wanted [his] acting to grow." So what did he do? He took a job on Broadway. Alec goes backstage with Rock after a matinee of The Mother F**ker With The Hat to hear about what it was like for Rock to be in his first play. Rock says rehearsal was the hardest thing he's ever gone through in his life.

Chris Rock and Alec talk about the play, the movie business, and Rock's career in stand-up. Alec asks Rock about how the people in his life respond to his stand-up -- which as Alec says, can "filet them on stage." "I'm like a lawyer," says Rock; "it would all hold up in court." That said, he admits that everybody is uncomfortable.

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Chris Rock is one of the greatest comic talents in the world, but when he arrived on Broadway to perform his first play, The Motherf***ker in The Hat, he did not yet know how to properly cross a Broadway stage. Rock says that his life has mimicked each role in the play—both the heart-breaker and the heart-broken—and he tells Alec that performing in the show was the hardest thing he has ever done.  

READ | Interview Transcript

Alec talks with Kris Kardashian Jenner, the self-described “momager” of the Kardashian clan. Kris explains what it’s like to live and work with her family: “you can’t get more controlling than that.”

Kris describes her family’s retail roots--her grandmother owned a candle store, her mother opened a store, and Kris herself, along with her daughters, opened two clothing stores.

“I sold t-shirts,” says Kris. “This is what I did all day long.”

For Kris, a reality show like Keeping Up with the Kardashians was a no-brainer: “if somebody says, we could...shine a camera on your shop every day, hello, I’m signing up.”

Kris tells Alec her daughters are surprisingly frugal--they have taught her about business and work ethic. She thinks she’s taught them about drive.

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Thirty days after a casual dinner conversation about doing a reality television show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians started filming. Six years later, Kris Kardashian is hoping for another 26 seasons.

In 2013, the Kardashian family earned $65 million in profits. Behind the clothing, jewelry and perfume empires is a family driven by faith and an unwavering work ethic. 

Alec Baldwin talks with political strategist Ed Rollins. A boxing phenom as a kid, Rollins went on to work on six presidential campaigns. He talks to Alec about his recent work with Michele Bachmann, offers new insight into Ronald Reagan’s legacy and shares some of his personal history – of a Democratic bent.

“Pretend I’m your priest,” says Ed Rollins, when he starts to work with prospective candidates. Rollins encourages his clients to tell him everything – even still, he tells Alec, “they always lie.” Rollins tells Alec what is really required of a president and talks about some of the candidates he has helped run for office.

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“Pretend I’m your priest,” says political strategist Ed Rollins, when he starts to work with prospective candidates. Rollins encourages his clients to tell him everything—even still, he tells Alec, “they always lie.” 

A boxing phenom as a kid, Rollins went on to work on six presidential campaigns and knows what is really required of a president. He talks to Alec about his work with Michele Bachmann, offers new insight into Ronald Reagan’s legacy and shares some of his personal history—of a Democratic bent.

 READ | Ed Rollins Interview Transcript

Michael Douglas invites host Alec Baldwin into his New York apartment for a compelling conversation about what makes a great director, a smart producer, and why playing the villain is so wonderful.

Douglas reveals how competition with his father, legendary actor Kirk Douglas, shaped both his career and his life as a parent, telling Alec, “I’m much more honest with my seven-year-old daughter than I ever thought I would be.” Listen in as Douglas also discloses how his father’s early brush with death and his own cancer diagnosis affected them each in different ways.

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Michael Douglas has lived in the same apartment overlooking Central Park for decades. Alec joins him there for a compelling conversation about what makes a great director and why playing the villain is so wonderful. Douglas reveals how competition with his father, legendary actor Kirk Douglas, shaped both his career and his life as a parent. He says he’s much more honest with his young daughter than he ever thought he’d be. Douglas explains how his father’s early brush with death, and his own cancer diagnosis affected them each in different ways.

Resources:

American Head and Neck Society