façade: Alec Baldwin

Has anyone morphed as dramatically as Alec Baldwin has?

Twenty years ago, I would have bet the rent money that he would be the next big thing in movies. Bigger than, say, Tom Cruise.

Which isn't saying much, I know, given Cruise's modest skills as an actor, his ordinary looks and dull personality.

Baldwin, on the other hand, seemed to have it all, not the least of which was an intimidating acting talent. He soared in supporting roles in high-profile movies for major filmmakers in the late 1980s - John Hughes' "She's Having a Baby," Oliver Stone's "Talk Radio," Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice," Mike Nichols' "Working Girl," Jim McBride's "Great Balls of Fire," Jonathan Demme's "Married to the Mob," Woody Allen's "Alice" and Amos Kollek's "Forever Lulu."

He was working his way to becoming the new - the next - William Holden.

Baldwin had his defining role in George Armitage's neglected "Miami Blue," met Kim Basinger on Jerry Rees' "The Marrying Man," recreated his stage role in Norman René's "Prelude to a Kiss" and had a couple meaty roles in Brian Gibson's "The Juror" and Harold Becker's "Malice." But there apparently were anger issues and when he lost the franchise that started with John McTiernan's "The Hunt for Red October," the bottom fell out.

Baldwin's last truly great film role/performance was in James Foley's "Glengary Glen Ross" in 1992 - 17 years ago. Most of his film work since then has been in supporting roles. His William Holden days are long gone. (Now, couldn't you just see Baldwin in remakes of those two Wilders, "Stalag 17" or "Sunset Boulevard"?) He's put on weight and has evolved instead into the new ... Lawrence Tierney. Not such a bad thing. Tierney was great. But Baldwin is no longer leading man material.

It all ended too soon.

Alec Baldwin is still a pleasure to watch, although I'm not really that enamored of the roles that have won him Oscar nominations and Emmy awards in recent years. Jack Donaghy, the cloying "30 Rock" character that has brought him his biggest success to date, is a highly resistible performance for me. For an actor this talented, it's slumming.

No, I still harbor dreams of Alec Baldwin getting his one, big, juicy, starring role in a film. My fantasy comeback for Baldwin - and Debra Winger, for that matter - would be a remake of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Yes, Baldwin and Winger as George and Martha. And how about Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon as Nick and Honey?

Maybe Mike Nichols, who helmed Baldwin in "Working Girl," would want to direct again. Hey, a person can dream, can't he?

In the meantime, the ubiquitous Alec has joined forces with Robert Osborne as the new co-host of Turner Classic Movies' "The Essentials," starting 7 March with the Marx Bros.' "A Night at the Opera" (1935). Not to be a contrarian, but I'd love to debate Alec on the so-called merits of two of his picks - William Wyler's "Funny Girl" and John G. Avildsen's "Rocky."

Also, another Baldwin pick, "The Devil and Daniel Webster," was remade by Baldwin (his directorial debut) in 2001, with Anthony Hopkins in the lead role, but it wasn't released until 2004 - under the new title, "Shortcut to Happiness" and with a fake director's credit, "Harry Kirkpatrick."

It should be interesting to see if Baldwin discusses this with Osborne on "The Essentials." Anyway, here's the rest of his "Essentials" schedule:

March 14 – Rocky (1976)

March 21 – Cat Ballou (1965)

March 28 – Ben-Hur (1959)

April 4 – Take the Money and Run (1969)

April 11 – Saboteur (1942)

April 18 – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

April 25 – Funny Girl (1968)

May 2 – I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

May 9 – Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

May 16 – The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

May 23 – Battleground (1949)

May 30 – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

June 6 – The Letter (1940)

June 13 – The Fortune Cookie (1966)

June 20 – Random Harvest (1942)

June 27 – Notorious (1946)

July 4 – The Mouse that Roared (1959)

July 11 – Tom Jones (1963)

July 18 – A Night at the Opera (1935)

July 25 – Rocky (1976)

Aug. 1 – The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)

Aug. 8 – An Affair to Remember (1957)

Aug. 15 – The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

Aug. 22 – Lolita (1962)

Aug. 29 – The Guns of Navarone (1961)

Sept. 5 – The Long Hot Summer (1958)

Sept. 12 – Wuthering Heights (1939)

Sept. 19 – Ben-Hur (1959)

Sept. 26 – Saboteur (1942)

Oct. 3 – Funny Girl (1968)

Oct. 10 – I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Oct. 17 – Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

Oct. 24 – The Letter (1940)

Oct. 31 – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

Nov. 7 – Take the Money and Run (1969)

Nov. 14 – The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Nov. 21 – Tom Jones (1963)

Nov. 28 – The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

Dec. 5 – Random Harvest (1942)

Dec. 12 – The Mouse that Roared (1959)

Dec. 19 – The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)

Dec. 26 – The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

Jan. 2 – Lolita (1962)

Jan. 9 – Notorious (1946)

Jan. 16 – Battleground (1949)

Jan. 23 – The Guns of Navarone (1961)

Jan. 30 – Wuthering Heights (1939)