Alec Baldwin's brother Stephen reveals why he left Hollywood for his faith: 'Jesus and the Holy Spirit fascinated me'

Actor Stephen Baldwin has opened up about his faith and what led him to back away from Hollywood and explore his religious leanings further.

'Jesus and the Holy Spirit fascinated me,' Stephen, 60, whose brothers are actors Alec Baldwin, 68, William Baldwin, 63, and Daniel Baldwin, 65, told People Sunday.

Baldwin said that following his role as McManus in 1995's The Usual Suspects, he found himself at a crossroads in his life and career.

'I probably could have pointed myself in the direction of becoming a big star,' he told the outlet. 'But that wasn't me. I didn't want to be Tom Cruise, and have to make $100 million at the box office.'

He referenced his Long Island, New York roots, joking, 'I'd rather be a schmuck from Massapequa! I'm good at that!'

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Stephen Baldwin for further comment on the story.

Baldwin noted a number of milestones in his life, including getting sober in 1989;  marrying his wife Kennya, 58, (with whom he shares daughters Alaia Baldwin, 33, and Hailey Bieber, 29) in 1990; and having a spiritual awakening as a born-again Christian in 2001.

'After the birth of our daughter Alaia, my wife hired a woman named Augusta from Brazil to come over and live and work with us and help out,' Baldwin said. 'She didn't speak English, she only communicated with my wife, who is Brazilian, in Portuguese.

'One day, Kennya and Augusta were talking and she said, "I think it's funny you believe I'm here to clean your house."'

Baldwin said that Augusta explained that she 'had a prophetic vision' while attending church in Brazil when she learned that an American family had been seeking a person to hire for help.

He said that Kennya told him that Augusta 'said the real reason she's here is because God spoke to her, and she said in the future you and I will become born-again Christians and have our own ministry.'

Baldwin told the outlet that he initially found the idea 'just so absurd,' telling Kennya, 'Hun, we're from New York but we're in Arizona and I think you need to go back into the air conditioning and lie down.'

After Hailey's birth in 1996, Stephen and his family relocated back to his native New York, and he began going to evangelical events.

One featuring noted gospel performer Kirk Franklin had been located in Syracuse, New York, which he went to with his sister Elizabeth Keuchler, 70, who was a born-again Christian by that time.

Baldwin then went to an evangelical event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that featured a ministry composed of skateboarding enthusiasts, which ultimately solidified his path toward his faith, as he 'felt a calling.'

He explained, 'Down on the beach, they had built a skate park on the sand with plywood.

'And these funky, super-committed, cool, tattooed, pierced skateboarders were there and they'd skate, stop, pick up a microphone and start preaching evangelistically, and like 5,000 kids would be around watching because of their interest in the skateboarders.'

Baldwin said he eventually connected with author Kevin Palau to work on a music video project that fused punk rock, skating and Christianity, ultimately resulting in the video Livin It.

'In the first six months we'd distributed 10,000 copies,' Baldwin said, adding that 'one of the bigger churches called and asked what it would cost to bring the skaters from the video to their church for a live event,' marking the point when he 'left Hollywood.'

Baldwin said he visited '125 churches over four years' with the skate ministry and connected with fellow born-again Christians.

The actor said of show business community, 'I think they thought I act a little too weird,' noting that he's 'retired' from political commentary after past publicly supporting President Donald Trump.

He said that via social media, he gets 'a lot of DMs from people who tell me how my work has touched them and that's all that matters.

'I'm happy to be where I'm now at 60. I'm so blessed. And I absolutely believe that the best is yet to come.'

Baldwin currently is busy with his podcast One Bad Movie; and as a producer on Christian-themed motion pictures.

He added, 'My commitment to the Lord now is simple. I said, "Lord, give me the platform ... and the resources ... to tell stories about you like John Hughes."'

Baldwin said he has a contentment and peace in his current life: 'I've done 100 movies, I've made more money that I could have wildly imagined, and I'm married to the hottest chick I've ever seen in my life.'

Baldwin added, 'Jesus is my rock. My wife is my anchor. I've had the most amazing life and I'm only 60. I'm so blessed. I'm just waiting for more doors [to] open that I'm supposed to walk through.'