Stephen Andrew Baldwin (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor, known for his role in the 1995 ensemble film The Usual Suspects and the comedy Bio-Dome. Since 2001, he has become an outspoken Christian conservative, with a Christian ministry and book to his name.
Biography

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Early life

Baldwin was born in Massapequa, New York, the son of Carol Newcomb (née Martineau) and Alexander Rae Baldwin, Jr., a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach.[1] He is the brother of notable actors, Alec, Daniel and William, sometimes collectively known as the, "Baldwin brothers." Baldwin was raised in a Roman Catholic family and is of Irish and French descent.[2][3]

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Career

During his time at Berner High School, Baldwin was a successful opera singer.[4] After high school, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts for one year, but was not invited back for a second year.[5] He got small parts in shows like Kate and Allie and Family Ties before landing his first serious feature film role in the 1988 film The Beast. That role led to other parts in the 1989 films Last Exit to Brooklyn and Born on the Fourth of July, as well as the television series The Young Riders. In 1995, he landed a possible breakthrough role in The Usual Suspects. Baldwin's next role was in 1996's Bio-Dome.

In 2002, Baldwin participated in Celebrity Mole Hawaii, the first celebrity edition of The Mole. ABC broadcast the reality show in early 2003. Later that year he returned for Celebrity Mole Yucatan, which ABC aired in early 2004. In 2004, he became the host of another reality show Scare Tactics, which was broadcast on The Sci Fi Channel.

In 2004, Baldwin directed and produced Livin' It, a film that focused on Christian athletes involved in extreme sports and evangelism, with Luis Palau's son, Kevin.

In September 2006, Baldwin had his book released, titled, The Unusual Suspect, which details his conversion to a faith-based Christian experience. In the same year he, Bobby Brewer, and Mario D'Ortenzio founded Breakthrough (a.k.a. Global BTM) a ministry utilizing extreme sports as a vehicle to share the gospel with the emerging youth culture.

In August 2007, Baldwin was back on television when CMT cast him in Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge. He was among nine celebrities cast on the show.[6] In the first episode, Baldwin was injured after taking a bad fall from a bull, breaking his shoulder blade and cracking a rib. Under doctor's orders, he had to give up going to Nashville and left the show in the second episode. He returned for the last episode in Nashville to support the other riders and was given a rodeo buckle by Ty Murray, along with the other riders, for his attempt.

From January-March 2008, Baldwin was seen on Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice, Season 7, on NBC, but was "fired" from advancing beyond the final five out of 14 celebrities who all began the season together. Baldwin was the project manager for his team during Week One's first task, earning over $69,000 for his celebrity charity.[7] By Week Six, he had had enough of his then project manager, pompous English tabloid editor Piers Morgan, and Baldwin sought to leave the show. He called a meeting with Trump, but he advised Baldwin not to be a quitter. Trump suggested that Baldwin switch teams instead and, "kick his [Piers] ass." Baldwin accepted Trump's challenge and switched teams.[8] Before Baldwin was fired, he won another $20,000 as project manager for his charity during Week Eight's QVC challenge.[9] Throughout the show, he had called on his celebrity family members to make appearances and charity donations, such as his brothers, Alec, the first week, and William, later,[citation needed] as was part of the rationale of the show - cast celebrities to draw other celebrities. Ultimately, the final two celebrity contestants were country music singer Trace Adkins and Morgan, with Adkins coming in second and Morgan being hired by Trump to be the first Celebrity Apprentice. Morgan was given an additional $250,000 for his charity by Trump as the grand prize for winning Celebrity Apprentice.[10]

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Personal life

Baldwin became a Born Again Christian shortly after the September 11 attacks.[11][12] Since converting, he has sought to evangelize young people through projects such as The Breakthrough Ministry,[13] which involves skateboarding and extreme sports, Christian rock concerts, laser light shows and fireworks. He talks frequently about his conversion experience, which involved a middle-aged Brazilian housekeeper.[14] Unlike his brothers, who are all liberals, Stephen is a conservative.

He currently resides in the village of Nyack, New York, with his wife, Kennya, and their family. In 2006, he launched a campaign to prevent an adult bookstore from opening on the outskirts of the village.[15] In 2006 and 2007 he has made calls to the radio talk show Lionel, the host of which advocates a skeptical view of religion, to tell his story and promote Christianity. In his book, Baldwin expressed the opinion that "You (Bono) would do far more good if you just preached the gospel of Jesus rather than trying to get rid of Third World debt."

In August 2007, Baldwin endorsed Sam Brownback in the 2008 presidential election.[16] After Brownback dropped out of the race, Baldwin began supporting Mike Huckabee instead of frontrunner John McCain, noting that "I just feel like Huckabee is a guy who is somebody, in my opinion, I can trust more because of those faith-based realities."[17]

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Filmography1988 - The Beast
1989 - The Young Riders
1989 - Last Exit to Brooklyn
1989 - Born on the Fourth of July
1991 - Crossing the Bridge
1994 - A Simple Twist of Fate
1994 - 8 Seconds
1994 - Threesome
1994 - Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
1995 - Dead weekend
1995 - The Usual Suspects
1996 - Bio-Dome
1996 - Fled
1996 - Crimetime
1998 - Half Baked
1998 - One Tough Cop
1998 - Scarred City
1999 - Absence of the Good
1999 - The Sex Monster
1999 - Friends & Lovers
2000 - Cutaway
2000 - The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
2001 - Spider's Web
2001 - Dead Awake
2001 - XChange   2001 - Zebra Lounge
2001 - Protection
2002 - Silent Warnings
2002 - Greenmail
2002 - Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice
2003 - Celebrity Mole Hawaii (TV Series)
2003 - Scare Tactics (TV series)
2003 - Firefight
2003 - Lost Treasure
2003 - Shelter Island
2004 - Celebrity Mole Yucatan (TV Series)
2004 - Six: The Mark Unleashed
2004 - Livin' It (DVD)
2004 - Target
2005 - Bound by Lies
2005 - The Snake King
2006 - The Flyboys
2006 - The Genius Club
2006 - Livin' It LA (DVD)
2006 - Dark Storm (TV - SciFi Channel)
2006 - Earthstorm (TV - SciFi Channel)
2007 - Stan Lee's The Harpies
2007 - Fred Claus
2007 - Midnight Clear
2008 - Celebrity Apprentice (TV Series)

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