Alec’s ready. But is Oscar?

It’s a snowy day in New York City, but Alec Baldwin, like his fellow “30 Rock” cast members, has reported for work at the Queens-based Silvercup Studios. It’s the day before his daughter will call 911, having found him “unresponsive” at home, leading Baldwin to spend an hour in the hospital, but on this day he’s in fine form. After all, Alec Baldwin knows how to adapt, having gone from playing action heroes and hard-charging real estate agents to embracing his comedic chops in films like “It’s Complicated.” And on Sunday, he’ll transform once more: into an Oscar host, a role he’ll share with his “Complicated” costar Steve Martin. Between takes on set, he considered what this new role means.

-- Randee Dawn

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How did you end up as an Oscar co-host?

I had hosted the Women in Hollywood dinner, and Carol Burnett jokingly said when she got up to present an award to Julie Andrews, “Don’t you think Alec should host the Oscars?” And Adam Shankman, one of the producers of the Oscars, was in the audience to hear that -- and a couple of weeks later they called.

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So what made you say yes? What’s the appeal of being a host?

[Laughing] There is no “appeal” to being the host of anything. I wouldn’t say it was a goal of mine, but I am touched to do this because if you’re going to host something, the Oscars should be it. There are people who, if they win [an Oscar], it will change their lives. You can have some irreverence, but it’s the highest level of achievement in the movie business.

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What elements go into doing the job right?

You want a tight script, and a lot of lines and ideas. Steve and I only appear for about 22 minutes of the entire time of the program. Our role in a three-hour show is not that big. You also want to be loose because things can happen; you have to be a bit light on your feet. The producers have some very nice features and tribute segments, and we have the function of teeing up those segments and letting the air out of everyone else in the room during the break.

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Who would you say has done a good job of hosting the Oscars over the years?

Billy [Crystal] comes to mind first. Steve did a good job. The show seems to be best if the people who host the shows aren’t pure television creatures who have no roots or career in the movie business. Those shows tend to do better.

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And here you are, being asked to work while the rest of your peers sit out there and enjoy themselves. Does that tweak your ego at all?

There are people who are celebrities and who act in front of a movie camera . . . and then there are people who are members of the academy. They’re there to celebrate achievements in all fields, or see someone who is a great veteran get a lifetime achievement award. Those are the people I’m playing toward.

The people who are just passing through those doors for the evening, who are just attending the Oscars as an award show rather than the gathering of an academy of people -- they’re going to forget I was even the host of the show five minutes after it’s over.

So I’m trying to dignify the job for those who will remember.

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