Stephen Baldwin grew up performing for family and friends, so everything happened organically when one of his brothers went into the entertainment business. Before the glitz and fame, however, the youngest Baldwin remembers a near real-life encounter with one of the movie business' famous mob references.

Philippine Tatler: What’s your fondest childhood memory?

Stephen Baldwin: I grew up on the south shore of Long Island, New York, in a town called Massapequa. It’s mostly Jews and Italians, fostering a strange dichotomy of Mafiosos, which is why there’s a nickname for that town, and it was “Matza Pizza.”

In that town was a house owned by Carlo Gambino. All our grandfathers warned against going too close to that house, else Gambino would shoot you.

One day, when my friend Corey and I went sailing in the South Bay, a storm came, and we lost control of a 16-foot Hobie Cat. It was too late when we realised that we were being blown towards Casa Gambino, so you could imagine how we paddled like it was the end of the word. It’s the experience that taught me to go get a six-pack of beer afterwards. 

The Hollywood personality enjoys a tête-à-tête with Carla Mendoza in the July 2014 issue of Philippine Tatler. Available in leading newsstands and bookstores. Download a digital copy from Magzter and Zinio.