Alec Baldwin spoke out in an interview for the first time since a prop gun that the actor had been holding misfired on the Rust film set, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, in October this year. It also injured the film’s director Joel Souza.
The gun struck Hutchins, who was rushed to hospital but tragically passed away.
Baldwin has been off the radar, but conducted his first interview since the shooting on American TV network ABC on Thursday, December 2, 2021.
The interview, which has been described as ‘intense’, is the first time Baldwin has given public insight into the fatal incident, with only his wife Hilaria’s social media posts providing updates on him and his family.
When is the Alec Baldwin interview?
(Image: Halyna Hutchins/Instagram)
The ‘raw’ interview was aired at 1am GMT on the morning of Friday, December 3, on American channel ABC and did not air in real time on a UK-based channel.
Stephanopoulos appeared on Good Morning America to share the news the interview would be taking place. He said: “I’ve done thousands of interviews in the last twenty years at ABC. This was the most intense I’ve ever experienced.
“So raw. As you can imagine he’s devastated, but he was also very candid, he was very forthcoming.
“He answered every question, he talked about Halyna Hutchins, talked about meeting with her family as well.
“(He) went through in detail what happened on the set that day, and I have to tell you I was surprised in many places over the course of that hour and twenty minutes we sat down yesterday.”
For those who were unable to watch the interview as it aired, it is available on streaming service Hulu.
Is there a trailer for the Alec Baldwin and George Stephanopoulos interview?
As well as Stephanopoulos’ appearance on Good Morning America, a trailer of sorts also emerged via ABC’s YouTube channel, which shows Baldwin speaking in the interview.
He says: “She was someone who was loved by everyone who worked with (her), and liked by everyone who worked with (her) and admired,” before breaking into tears.
“It doesn’t seem real to me”, he says.
“The trigger wasn’t pulled, I didn’t pull the trigger.
“I would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger at them.”
Stephanopoulos asked difficult questions about what Baldwin thinks happened, and how the bullet got on set.
What are the five key talking points from the interview?
Baldwin was very candid in the interview, giving full answers to Stephanopoulos’ questions.
Read on for five of the biggest revelations to come out of the conversation.
How did the bullet get on set?
Alec Baldwin believes this is the only issue that matters. He said: “There’s only one question to be resolved, and that’s where did the live round come from?”
Speaking about the on-set armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, he said: “I assumed because she was there and she was hired that she was up to the job.”
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney says she did not put the bullet in the gun and that she was the victim of sabotage.
Should Baldwin have checked the gun himself?
In the interview, Baldwin was played a clip featuring George Clooney saying: “Every single time I’m handed a gun on a set, every time, they hand me a gun, I look at it, I open it, I show it to the person I’m pointing it to, we show it to the crew. Every single take.
“You hand it back to the armourer when you’re done, you do it again. Everyone does it. Everybody knows it.”
Baldwin responded: “Well, 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.
“If your protocols, you check the gun every time, well good for you. Good for you. You know, I probably handled weapons as much as any other actor in films.
He said: “In that time, I had a protocol and it never let me down,” and that he’d been told for many years the crew, “don’t want the actor to be the last line of defence against a catastrophic breach of safety with the gun.
“When that person who was charged with that job, handed me the weapon, I trusted them.”
There had been reports of safety issues on set
Baldwin, a co-producer on Rust, claims no concerns about safety had been bought to his attention.
“I never heard one word about that, none,” he said.
“Everybody who makes movies has the responsibility not to be reckless and careless with the money that you’re given.”
“In my opinion, no, I personally did not observe any safety or security issues at all in the time I was there.”
Does Baldwin think he’s to blame?
The actor does not believe that he is to blame for the shooting. He said: “No. No. I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.
“Honest to God, if I felt that I was responsible, I might’ve killed myself if I thought that I was responsible. And I don’t say that lightly.”
“I’ve been told by people in the know that it is highly unlikely I would be charged with anything criminally.”
Baldwin and his fellow producers have had two civil lawsuits filed against them by members of the Rust crew.
What about Baldwin’s career?
Discussing the future of his career, Baldwin said: “I couldn’t give a s**t about my career anymore.”
Stephanopoulos asked him is his career was over, to which Baldwin replied: “It could be.
“I said to myself, do I want to work much more after this?”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
