Alec Baldwin On Why He Should Have Continued Playing Jack Ryan & Being Impressed By Ryan Gosling

Alec Baldwin has admitted that he probably should have continued playing Tom Clancy hero Jack Ryan.

While promoting his new documentary with producer James Toback – “Seduced and Abandoned” (about their journey trying to pitch a film to potential backers during a trip to Cannes) — a reporter at the Television Critics Association Summer Tour in Beverly Hills brought up that the two men spoke with many producers during their film, who commented on the importance of a franchise. The reporter then mentioned his movie “The Hunt for Red October,” the only film Alec played Jack Ryan in, and asked if the star realized the importance of franchises when he left the project.

“I remember that at the time that happened, I wanted to continue to do the films, and while I tried to work it out that I could do the film and another project that I wanted to do, they found someone else that they wanted to continue along with in the new film, someone who they had not foreseen would want to go do that with them, so that all got changed,” Alec said.

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“We shot that film in 1989 and to see where the franchise business has evolved, yeah, I guess if I had any brains, I would have stayed with the franchise, knowing what I know now,” he continued. “Because it does give you some freedom. …. If you don’t find some way to work in films that are going to make some money, then it’s going to be a tough road. I mean, not that you can put yourself in those films, but if they come your way, to not dismiss them outright and try to have a career like Hugh Jackman, who , I think is probably one of the more successful people in the one-for-them/one-for-me program.”

Ryan Gosling appears in Alec and James’ new documentary, and Alec said he was impressed at how the younger actor has handled the business.

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“I think one of the things that was interesting about talking to Gosling was… you see how kind of edgy and savvy he is,” Alec said. “He’s made a good number of films, but he’s just so much smarter about the business than I was at that age. These young people today who come up, they have to have a realism about the business that I didn’t quite have until I was probably 40 or 45.”

“Seduced and Abandoned” premieres October 28 on HBO.

— Jolie Lash