Baldwin's daughter, Ireland, told authorities that she was worried about her father after he said, "I'm tired of this. I'm going to take some pills. I'm going to end this," the official told The Associated Press, quoting from an official report on the matter.
Authorities came to the 30 Rock star's Central Park West apartment after his daughter called 911 at about 12:10 a.m. Thursday, the official said. The official wasn't authorised to speak publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ireland called authorities after the two ended their phone conversation and she couldn't reach him again, the official said.
Baldwin, 51, was released from the hospital in an hour and took no alcohol or pills, spokesman Matthew Hiltzik said.
"This was a misunderstanding on one person's part. Alec was quickly released from the hospital; he's completely fine and will be at work today," Hiltzik said in a statement.
"If there was a real problem or concern, he wouldn't have been released from a hospital within an hour," Hiltzik said later Thursday.
In 2008, Baldwin blamed a bitter custody battle with ex-wife Kim Basinger in part for the anger and frustration he was feeling when he berated their daughter in a phone message leaked earlier to the media.
In the message, Baldwin called Ireland a "rude, thoughtless little pig." He was apparently upset that she had missed his phone call. Baldwin said he apologised to Ireland. He said the message was wrong and "horrified" him.
In his book, A Promise to Ourselves, Baldwin railed against the family court system in Los Angeles, offered advice based on his own experience with divorce litigation and talked about how one parent can turn a child against another parent.
Evelyn Karamanos, Basinger's publicist in California, didn't immediately return a call from the AP requesting comment.
On March 7, Baldwin and Steve Martin will co-host the 82nd Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.
In September, Baldwin won his second straight Emmy Award as lead actor in a comedy for 30 Rock. Last month, he and 30 Rock co-star Tina Fey won the Screen Actors Guild Award for best acting in a comedy series and he won a Golden Globe Award for best actor in a TV series, comedy or musical.
