Alec Baldwin Backs Barney Frank Biopic, Calls Him 'Personal Hero'

Alec Baldwin has signed on to become a producer on Barney Frank's biopic.

The 30 Rock actor, who has stirred controversy of late with antigay remarks, will serve as executive producer for the gay politician's upcoming biopic, Compared to What: The Improbably Journey of Barney Frank. The documentary will premiere April 27 at the Tribeca Film Festival, reports Deadline.

Directed by Sheila Canavan and Michael Chandler, Compared to What depicts Frank as he reflects on his 40-year political career and the role his sexuality played throughout his various campaigns. Frank, 73, was the first congressman to voluntarily come out as gay.

The documentary will also feature many of Frank's former colleagues, including Hank Paulson, Lance Black, Nancy Pelosi, Eliot Spitzer, Charlie Halpern, Mike Oxley, Neil Barofsky, Maxine Waters, and Jim Segel.

Baldwin, who made a similar creative move when he signed on to produce Elaine Stritch: Don't Shoot Me last year, is also to set to take part in a Q & A alongside Frank following the documentary's festival premiere.

"Barney Frank is a personal hero of mine," Baldwin said in a statement. "His legacy in Congress, and his historic importance as the first openly gay and married Congressman, are important for our country."

In the past, the 55-year-old actor has been critical of the gay politician. In 2005 Baldwin caricatured Frank in an SNL skit. In 2008 he condemned Frank, who at the time served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, for "propping up" government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.