At a small round table before the sequel news was announced, That’s It LA was able to participate in a chat with Boss Baby himself Alec Baldwin, who was just about bursting with the news. When we asked if he’d be game for a sequel, his eyes lit up with a definite “Yes”.
We think he knew it was coming.
Known for playing bossy characters, Baldwin discussed the recent roles since 30 Rock’s Donaghy and the other boss baby he plays on SNL in comparison to his animated counterpart. “I’d like to think of this as the bossy character. Bossiest of the bossy characters,” he laughed. “I think that Boss Baby the character–I think he’s more Machiavellian than Donaghy was on that show. Donaghy was always somebody who you wanted to surf the public or private membrane. In public, I think I know everything, he’s talking to people–very confident. And then, I’m home alone and I’m like ‘Oh God. I’m a mess-filled with fear and insecurity.’ I think that Boss Baby is the same in public as he is in private. Completely self-reliant and self-motivated. All I do is try to make him sound like this lovably desperate person.”
Being attracted to these types of roles isn’t something that Baldwin consciously selects though, he pointed out, “I think about it in terms of what’s good material and if the timing is right, you read a script and it’s something you’re really confident about. Then Katzenberg called me and I had done Madagascar and Rise of the Guardians. I always say yes. Time wise, it’s not too awful a commitment. The challenge is to maintain a kind of truth to the character over years of time. I do a session, I don’t see them for a couple of months. I might see them in six weeks, I might see them in 12 weeks.” This is Baldwin’s third Dreamworks animation character over the years having previously done voice work for the films he mentioned.
The actor did bring up that parenthood does factor in, he recalled his first trip to SDCC last year, “I went to Comic-Con with Timberlake, he was there for Trolls and we talked about when you have children they do have pull that you want to make movies they can appreciate.” His youngest daughter and her peers are just the right age for Boss Baby, he explained, “My daughter goes to school with Jimmy Fallon’s daughter, I wasn’t there but I was told that they went around asking, ‘What does your mommy do? What does your daddy do?’ and she said, ‘My daddy is on TV and he’s very funny’ and Fallon’s kid says to her. ‘My daddy is on TV and he’s very VERY funny.'” He joked that he now has to prove to her that he’s funnier than Jimmy Fallon because he can’t get anything by her now.
“I think that you have to give kids now at a certain age, a little bit more reality than they did a few years ago. Cartoons were so much more naive back then and kids are so much sharper. My daughter is 3 and a half. A lot of it is inherent to her as an individual. Kids her age are getting a little sharper a whole lot quicker.” He shared an anecdote about how his daughter is the Boss Baby at home. “My wife was born in the U.S. but raised in Spain and is fluent in Spanish–and so my daughter is fully bilingual so she speaks both. In my house, I’m the pin cushion there and my daughter will literally look to my wife with like the greatest level of judgement and tells her, ‘Daddy only speaks English.’ You see that there are super smart kids and they’re putting the pieces together a lot quicker.”
DreamWorks Animation invites you to meet a most unusual baby when THE BOSS BABY, the “wildly funny” adventure comedy of the year arrives on Digital HD July 4 and on Blu-ray and DVD on July 25. Seven-year-old Tim Templeton suddenly finds his share of parental love plummeting when his new baby brother (Alec Baldwin) arrives — wearing a suit and toting a briefcase — and makes it clear to everyone that he’s in charge. But when Tim discovers that Boss Baby is on a secret mission, he reluctantly agrees to team up with his pint-sized sibling for an epic adventure that might just change the world!
THE BOSS BABY Blu-ray™, Blu-ray 3D, 4K Ultra HD, DVD and Digital HD each include more than 30 minutes of extras:
- NEW Mini Adventure: The Boss Baby and Tim’s Treasure Hunt Through Time – Narrated by Wizzie, the magical wizard, join Boss Baby and Tim on their adventure!
- The Forever Puppy Infomercial – Always playful, always snuggly, and everlastingly cute; The Forever Puppy is destined to win the cuteness competition with babies once and for all.
- BabyCorp and You – Helpful advice and more for new infants on the job at BabyCorp.
- Babies vs. Puppies: Who Do YOU Love? – Who has won the hearts of familes once and for all? This “scientific” experiment compares and contrasts factors such as “cuddliness,” “adorability,” and “attention grabbing techniques” used by both demanding competitors.
- The Boss Baby’s Undercover Team – From Staci, the note taker who can’t read, to Jimbo the huge baby who’ll take a suction cup arrow for the Boss, to the triple-threat of the Triplets, Boss Baby dives deeper into this team of cute corporate board members.
- Cookies are for Closers: Inside BabyCorp – Go behind the scenes with Director Tom McGrath as he introduces us to BabyCorp, a secret organization of infants united for a common goal in
THE BOSS BABY. - The Great Sibling Competition – A fun, kid-friendly and humorous look at the competition among siblings to win the affection of their parents. Explore conversations with the cast and crew on their competitive sibling relationships and get very special insights from Boss Baby himself: Alec Baldwin.
