Alec Baldwin says there are ''doors you have to slam in people's faces'' to succeed.

The '30 Rock' star insists a large percentage of his income was being siphoned off to members of his family and this forced him to take on unsuccessful projects however, had he had the strength to prioritise his own needs and wants he would not have been in this position.

He told the guardian newspaper's weekend magazine: ''People don't understand this; if you want to have a really good shot at succeeding there are doors you have to slam in people's faces, and say, 'This is my priority and you can't depend on me to help you.' I was never good at that.''

Alec acknowledges that it seems ''nauseatingly self-serving'' that he puts his failed films down to being the ''good guy'' but insists he needed to make money so took on parts he may not have otherwise considered.

He added: ''By the way, I know this sounds nauseatingly self-serving, like what a good guy I am, trying to imply that I tanked my film career so I could be of service to others.''

Quoting lines from 'Lawrence Of Arabia', he added: '''The Turks pay me a golden treasure, yet I am poor, because I am a river to my people.' What I realise is, I am a river to my people. And being a river to my people is not all that convenient to your career. The shit I did because I had to go get some short-end money.''