Why Alec Baldwin’s ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ Scene Was Added to the Film

Arguably the most iconic (and quoted ad nauseam) moment in the film version of Glengarry Glen Ross is Alec Baldwin’s Blake character berating the real estate salesmen of Premiere Properties.

However, that character did not have any lines in David Mamet’s 1984 Pulitzer-winning play. Mamet added Blake’s speech to his screenplay at the behest of New Line Cinema for the 1992 film starring a powerhouse cast that included Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin and Kevin Spacey.

John C. McGinley — who played David Moss in the 2012 Broadway revival of Glengarry (Moss was played by Harris in the film) — recently dropped by The Rich Eisen Show, where he talked about why the Blake character was added to the film, which he learned from chatting with Mamet.

“They asked David Mamet to put a special effect to get the movie going, like an explosion or something,” McGinley recalled. “And he wrote the Alec Baldwin diatribe. That’s the explosion that’s not in the play. Alec Baldwin’s character is a threat off-stage in the play. That’s how David solved that problem.”

In the film, Blake is brought in by Mitch and Murray, the unseen owners of Premiere Properties, to light a fire under the struggling salesmen. For nearly 10 minutes, Baldwin’s Blake verbally abuses the men and threatens their jobs if they do not start closing more deals. His repeated line of “Always be closing” went on to be a pop-culture staple.

Listen to the McGinley interview segment below.