Watch embattled actor Alec Baldwin try to sell his Hamptons holiday home
Thursday, 7 March 2024
Embattled actor Alec Baldwin has put his actorly chops to the test, going in front of the camera to help sell his holiday home in the Hamptons, New York.
Baldwin has owned the seven-bed, 9-bath home in Amagansett, on Long Island in New York, for about 28 years. According to the listing, the 925m² home was originally built in 1740, and sits on a 4 hectare section that includes a 2 hectare agricultural reserve meadow at the front of the house, which cannot be built on.
Realtor.com says Baldwin first listed the home in 2022, for about US$29 million (NZ$47m) and couldn’t find a buyer. Now, he’s relisted with Saunders Realty at a discount: US$19m (NZ$31m).
When he bought the home back in 1995, the It’s Complicated star paid about US$1.45m (NZ$2.28m). He and wife Hilaria have since done extensive work on it, including landscaping and the addition of two wings to the original 18th century farmhouse.
Plans included in the sale would add a second “guest house” of a similar size to the main house.
To help push the sale along, Baldwin has appeared in a clip in which he takes viewers on a trip down memory lane, detailing his personal relationship with the Hamptons, an area that has long been an exclusive holiday spot for wealthy New Yorkers.
“I’ve had a home out here on the east end of Long Island since 1982,” Baldwin says, referring to a property he rented for about five years before he bought his house at Amagansett.
“When I was younger, we’d come out here and we’d sleep all morning, and lay on the beach all day,” he says before leaning into the camera to whisper conspiratorially, “When you’re young, this place is the best.”
He pays a short visit to his old house, before introducing us to his farmhouse, and giving a rousing speech about the property from his private meadow in front.
“I fell in love with this place the moment I came here,” he says wistfully. “You just can’t get this out here any more. You can’t buy big pieces of land… I’m happiest when I come out here, because it’s just so peaceful.”
Which begs the question, why would the actor be parting with the property now when a bit of peace and quiet would likely be most welcome?
In February, the actor was charged with involuntary manslaughter following his involvement in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of Rust. Baldwin was a star and producer of the film.
On Thursday, NZ time, the armourer responsible for setting up the weapon, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. According to the Guardian, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was taken into custody immediately, and faces up to 18 months in prison and a US$5,000 (NZ$8200) fine
According to US outlet ABC, Baldwin’s case is due to go to court in July. Baldwin already pleaded not guilty in January. If convicted, the father of eight faces up to five years in prison.
Baldwin is not the first celebrity to play an active part in the sale of a beloved holiday home. In 2019, actor Michael Douglas provided the voiceover for a sales clip of his historic Spanish estate S'Estaca, on the island of Majorca.
In the clip, the estate gets the the full cinematic treatment, showing off the romantic Moorish design of the home, as well as the vineyard, olive and almond groves that decorate more than 200 acres of coastline, overlooking the Balearic Sea.
'My life has taken a new course,“ the voice-over says. ”Now it's time to let someone else enjoy the privilege and the adventure of S'Estaca.“
Douglas, who was 74 at the time, received a tongue cancer diagnosis in 2010.