Movies - TV
Alec Baldwin Didn't Have To Audition For His Memorable Glengarry Glen Ross Role
By LEE ADAMS
David Mamet’s original stage play “Glengarry Glen Ross” was adapted into a movie in 1992 that contains Alec Baldwin’s highly memorable and oft-referenced “always be closing” monologue. Baldwin’s timing and withering delivery are so perfect it is easy to see why he didn’t even need to audition for the part.
Baldwin was still in the early stages of his career, but director James Foley said he was the only actor considered for the part. He said, "I don't remember talking to any actor about Alec's part except Alec. He had already done 'The Hunt for Red October.' There was no audition. Alec's name came up, and I said, 'Perfect.' Alec said, 'Great,' and we did it, which is so unusual."
In Mamet's original Pulitzer prize-winning stage play, Baldwin’s Blake only existed as an unseen background threat. The film's producers wanted Mamet to add something to intensify the pressure of sales and get the plot moving a little faster on the screen, so he brought Blake into the office for a foul-mouthed speech that would go down in movie history.