10 Serious Actors Who Successfully Made The Jump To Comedy

Anyone who remembers watching Alec Baldwin verbally assassinate a room of low-rent real estate salesmen in Glengarry Glen Ross for the first time probably recalls thinking to themselves, "Huh, who knew one of the Baldwins could be this viscerally funny?" Granted, it wasn't exactly the most lighthearted humor, but there was something darkly witty in Baldwin's delivery that hinted at a strong future in comedy.

That didn't happen immediately, as Baldwin spent the majority of his early career deftly moving between action thrillers like The Hunt For Red October and schlocky romantic fare like Prelude to a Kiss.

But as with so many dramatic film actors, all it really takes for the world to take them less seriously is a breakout performance on Saturday Night Live. That performance came when Baldwin took on the role of Pete Schweddy, proprietor of Season's Eatings bakery and creator of his famous Schweddy Balls. The guy's since become so adept at hosting that SNL deemed it necessary to offer a Best of Alec Baldwin compilation.

That prominence on Studio 8H helped him land his gig as Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock, where Baldwin spent 7 seasons routinely battling Tracy Morgan for comic supremacy, and often managing to win.