William Baldwin on Celebrities and Politics

Aug. 15 -- When Hollywood meets the Beltway this week at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, celebrities will turn out in force to show their support for the party and the Gore/Lieberman ticket. But while some stars may be there just for the parties and photo opportunities, actor William Baldwin is there on business.

Though Baldwin may be better known as the star of Sliver and Backdraft, he is also an established social and political advocate. In his capacity as president of The Creative Coalition, Baldwin is eager to raise awareness about topics like the environment, abortion-rights issues and homelessness.

What do celebrities bring to political advocacy? Do stars have a responsibility to help educate the public about social and political issues? Baldwin chatted live from the Democratic National Convention with ABCNEWS.com viewers. A transcript of the chat appears below.

Moderator at 3:02pm ET

Welcome, Billy Baldwin, to ABCNEWS.com. Thanks very much — we appreciate your time.

William Baldwin at 3:03pm ET

I'm here with a mock delegation, if you will. I am the president of a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group called The Creative Coalition. It's a group of arts and entertainment professionals who are socially and politically active. It was founded in 1989, based in New York, but we have offices in Los Angeles and Washington as well. We are currently active in First Amendment rights, arts advocacy and public education.

Moderator at 3:05pm ET

A number of people have asked questions about your personal background, and how you became active politically. I'm going to paraphrase some questions from our audience. Were you politically active before you became an actor, and what is it about your family background and the way you were brought up which influenced your desire to become an activist?

William Baldwin at 3:06pm ET

I was an activist who happened to become a celebrity, not a celebrity who happened to become an activist. My advocacy and my social and political passions are genetically encoded. My father was a public high school government teacher for 35 years, and a social and political activist as well.

I have a degree in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and I worked briefly on the Hill for former Rep. Downey from the second congressional district in Long Island.

I've been active in politics my whole life, or at least interested and drawn to politics. Current affairs was always a topic of discussion at the dinner table in the Baldwin household.