The Movie That Turned Alec Baldwin And Kim Basinger Into A Real-Life Couple
Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin have enjoyed 10 years of (mostly) pure marital bliss. The couple, who started dating in 2011 after meeting by chance at a New York restaurant, per Insider, tied the knot in 2012 and have since welcomed seven children together. (Their youngest, Ilaria Caralina Irena, was born just last September.) In his birthday message for Hilaria in 2021, posted to Instagram, Baldwin referred to his yoga instructor-wife as the "love of his life." "To the only person in the world who brings me joy and peace every day. The person who is my home. My everything," he wrote.
Before Hilaria, Alec was first married to actor Kim Basinger, whom he met in the early '90s while working on a film together. Per InStyle, Alec and Basinger tied the knot at his Long Island beach house in 1993, only six weeks after they got engaged. They then welcomed their daughter, fashion model Ireland Baldwin, in October 1995. They then divorced in 2002, leaving the former couple caught in a bitter custody battle over their only child, which made them regular fodder for the tabloids for years on end. They have since reconciled, however, with Alec calling his ex "one of the most beautiful women that (has) ever lived" in 2013, noting that "even divorce doesn't muddy my view of that." As for Basinger, the actor told The Edit in 2016 that she and Alec were "cool now" (via HuffPost). "Life goes on," she added.
So, which movie did Alec and Basinger star in that turned them into a real-life couple?
Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger starred in The Marrying Man
Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger played lovers in the 1991 romantic comedy "The Marrying Man." The movie follows the story of a millionaire playboy (Baldwin) who is about marry the daughter of the most powerful man in Hollywood. However, he ends up having a change of heart after he meets sultry singer Vicki Anderson (Basinger) during a trip to Las Vegas for his bachelor party. In a chat with People, Basinger said things turned romantic between her and Baldwin as soon as they met for dinner to discuss "The Marrying Man." "He kissed me and then asked me if I wanted kids," she recalled. At the time, Basinger had just separated from her husband of eight years, makeup artist Ron Britton, and had no interest in finding new love. However, she ended up falling for Baldwin and the two started a romantic relationship.
According to the film's director Jerry Rees, Basinger predicted her romance with Baldwin weeks before the pair even met. "I had a picture of Alec and one of her pinned next to each other on a wall so we could see how they looked together," Reese told Entertainment Weekly. "And Kim looked at them and broke out into a smile and said very softly, 'We are going to make a terrific couple.'" Per reports, Baldwin and Basinger shared a very intense love that would sometimes turn volatile. "You could feel the sexual tension between them," a film crew member told People in 1993. "It was like a heat-seeking missile had been fired."
The Marrying Man was a huge flop
Despite Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger being two of the hottest stars in Hollywood at the time — thanks to their roles in "The Hunt for Red October" and "Batman," respectively — "The Marrying Man" was a critical and box-office failure. It ended up making only $12 million globally on a $26 million budget, as reported by Box Office Mojo. In a review of the film, Vincent Canby of The New York Times described it as a "bore." Meanwhile, Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times said that Baldwin and Basinger didn't make for a great match. "And given the film's premise, that's a fatal problem," he said. "The crazy lust that would make these two keep going at each other year after year and marriage after marriage just isn't on the screen."
In addition, "The Marrying Man" also generated bad publicity for both Baldwin and Basinger after reports surfaced of their poor work ethic and toxic attitude on-set. Ahead of its release, a blistering article published by Premiere called the movie a "production from hell" (via Yahoo). Chatting with Entertainment Weekly, Baldwin described the project as "the biggest mistake of my career." "I spent a year and a half working hard," he said. "And all I have to show for it is 'The Marrying Man.'" However, this did not stop him and Basinger from working together on another film in 1994: "The Getaway," which was sadly yet another bomb.