Believing that he's not responsible for checking the gun on the set, the '30 Rock' alum claims he's been told that 'it's highly unlikely' that he would face criminal charges for the shooting.
- Dec 3, 2021
AceShowbiz - Alec Baldwin has shared an insight into the tragedy on the "Rust" set. In his first TV interview since the incident, the actor detailed what happened that day and how he sees his career as an actor in the future.
Alec sat down with ABC News George Stephanopoulos in the interview which aired on Thursday, December 2. He told the host he "can't imagine" ever doing a movie with guns in it again following the shooting accident that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. "I couldn't give a s**t about my career anymore," he added. When asked if he thinks his career is over, he replied, "Well, it could be."
Throughout the one-hour interview, Alec maintained his innocence. "Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn't even supposed to be on the property," he said. "Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can't say who that is, but I know it's not me."
"I don't know what happened on that set. I don't know how that bullet arrived in that gun. I don't know," the 63-year-old insisted. "But I'm all for doing anything that will take us to a place where this is less likely to happen again."
He then recalled that first assistant director Dave Halls handed him a revolver and told him, "This is a cold gun." He continued, "Now, what happened there, and why he made that statement, and what the realities were, I have, again, I have no idea."
Alec said the incident happened while they were doing a marking rehearsal under Halyna's direction. The actor said he needed to cock the gun, but not fire it. "The trigger wasn't pulled. I didn't pull the trigger," he stressed.
"I cock the gun. I go, 'Can you see that? Can you see that? Can you see that?' " he recounted moments before the gun discharged. "And then I let go of the hammer of the gun, and the gun goes off. I let go of the hammer of the gun, the gun goes off."
"So, you never pulled the trigger?" George asked, to which Alec responded. "No, no, no, no, no." He insisted, "I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them."
Alec recalled there was a loud sound and "[Hutchins] goes down. I thought to myself, 'Did she faint?' " He added, "The notion that there was a live round in that gun did not dawn on me till probably 45 minutes to an hour later."
The former Donald Trump depicter on "Saturday Night Live" said he was told that Halyna didn't survive when he was interviewed at the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. "At the very end of my interview with the sheriff's department … they said to me, 'We regret to tell you that [Hutchins] didn't make it,' " he recounted. "They told me right then and there."
Alec was also asked what he thinks when actors like George Clooney said that he checks it himself every time he is handed a gun on set. Calling it "misplaced," the "30 Rock" alum clapped back, "There were a lot of people who felt it necessary to contribute some comment to the situation, which really didn't help the situation at all." He added, "If your protocol is you checking the gun every time, well, good for you. Good for you. My protocol was to trust the person that had the job. And it worked up until this point."
While Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has not ruled out criminal charges in the case, Alec believes that "it's highly unlikely" he will face criminal charges for the accidental shooting. "I've been told by people who are in the know, in terms of even inside the state, that it's highly unlikely that I would be charged with anything criminally," he insisted.
When asked if he feels guilt, Alec replied, "No. no." He then elaborated, "I might have killed myself if I thought I was responsible, and I don't say that lightly."
Still, the incident left him scarred and continues to weigh on him. "I have dreams about this constantly now," so he shared. "I go through my day, and I make it through the day. Then I collapse at the end of the day. Emotionally, I collapse."
On Thursday, Lisa Torraco, a lawyer for assistant director Dave Halls, corroborated Alec's account that he didn't pull the trigger. She said Dave told her "from day one" that he was watching from three or four feet away and "the entire time Baldwin had his finger outside the trigger guard parallel to the barrel … that Alec did not pull that trigger."
