Alec Baldwin interview: Actor ‘couldn’t give a s***’ if career is over after Rust shooting

Alec Baldwin has given his first interview since the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the upcoming film Rust.

The actor, who allegedly fired the fatal shot from what he believed was a safe “cold gun”, spoke to ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday (30 November) for an hour-long special.During the conversation, he described how we wasn’t aware of any safety issues on set ahead of the accident, and was following instructions in the final moments before his prop gun went off and killed Ms Hutchins.

“I’m holding the gun where she told me to hold it,” he said, before describing how he released the “hammer” of the gun and a shot rang out.

The Rust actor also described his grief after the shooting, and his admiration for the deceased crew member.

“I would go to any lengths to undo what happened,” he told Stephanopoulos.

“She was someone who was beloved by everyone we worked with, loved by everyone we worked with, someone who was admired by everyone who worked with her,” Mr Baldwin continued, breaking into tears.

Follow here live for all the interview updates as we get them.

Key points from the interview so far

• What can we expect from the interview?

• Baldwin seen breaking down in emotional first clip from interview

• Interview expected to address key questions about what happened on set

What can we expect from the interview?

Thursday 2 December 2021 19:38 , Elizabeth Aubrey

Alec Baldwin has given his first interview since the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.

The actor, who allegedly fired the fatal shot from what he believed was a safe “cold gun”, spoke to ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday (30 November). The interview will air this evening (2 December) on ABC at 8pm ET.

Stephanopoulos confirmed he and Baldwin spoke for an hour twenty minutes and he called the conversation “intense,” “raw” and “very candid”.

He added that Baldwin was “very forthcoming” in his answers and went into more detail about what happened on the set.

He explained: “I’ve done thousands of interviews in the last twenty years at ABC over the years but this was the most intense I’ve ever experienced. [It was] so raw – as you can imagine, he’s devastated. 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.”

You can watch a clip from the interview here:

Alec Baldwin cries as he denies pulling trigger of gun that killed Halyna Hutchins in clip from interview

Thursday 2 December 2021 20:11 , Elizabeth Aubrey

In a new clip shared from the interview by ABC, Baldwin can be seen breaking down in tears and denying that he pulled the trigger of the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins.

He said: “The trigger wasn’t pulled, I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at anyone at point a trigger at them, never.”

He continued: “Someone put a live bullet in a gun – a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property,” Baldwin added.

He went on to agree with Stephanopoulos who asked him if this was the “worst thing to have ever happened to him.” Baldwin replied “yes” and added: “‘I think back, I think: ‘What could I have done?’”

You can read more about the clip and what Baldwin said here:

Emotional Alec Baldwin denies pulling trigger of gun that killed Halyna Hutchins

How did live ammunition find its way onto set?

Thursday 2 December 2021 20:16 , Elizabeth Aubrey

The shooting is still currently under investigation, but a new search warrant obtained by Deadline offers some clues as to how live ammunition may have ended up on the set.

You can read more about that in this report from my colleague Maanya Sachdeva here:

New search warrant suggests how live ammo may have ended up on Rust set

Baldwin hires a former federal prosecutor to fight Rust lawsuits

Thursday 2 December 2021 20:25 , Elizabeth Aubrey

Alec Baldwin has hired former US assistant attorney Aaron Dyer to defend him in multiple lawsuits relating to the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.

Baldwin is currently being sued by Rust’s script supervisor, gaffer and lighting technician all in separate lawsuits over his role in the death of Hutchins, who was shot and killed with a gun fired by the 30 Rock actor.

Script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, is the latest crew member to file suit against Baldwin, who she claims played “Russian roulette” by not personally checking if the gun was loaded.

In the suit, she claims that Baldwin “intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired a loaded gun” even though the upcoming scene “did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm”.

Baldwin has told authorities that he had been told that the gun he was using in the scene was “cold”, when in fact it was loaded with live ammunition.

Dyer has previously represented high-profile clients such as Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

He served as US assistant attorney in Los Angeles for seven years, prosecuting cases before returning to private practice in New York.

No legal charges have yet been filed in relation to the death of Hutchins, but prosecutors have said they are still investigating the incident.

It’s not clear yet whether Baldwin will address these lawsuits directly in his interview with ABC.

You can read more about the lawsuit from my colleague Sam Moore here:

Alec Baldwin hires a former federal prosecutor to fight Rust lawsuits

The interview is set to be very “intense” according to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos

Thursday 2 December 2021 21:07 , Elizabeth Aubrey

When speaking on ABC earlier on Wednesday, Stephanopoulos said that Baldwin was “very forthcoming” in their interview answers and went into more detail with him about what happened on the set.

The pair spoke for one hour and twenty minutes in an interview Stephanopoulos said was “intense,” “raw” and “very candid”.

He went on to say it was one of the most “intense” interviews of his entire career.

He explained: “I’ve done thousands of interviews in the last twenty years at ABC over the years but this was the most intense I’ve ever experienced. [It was] so raw – as you can imagine, he’s devastated.

“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.”

When will the interview air?

Thursday 2 December 2021 21:12 , Elizabeth Aubrey

In the US, the interview airs in full on ABC at 8pm tonight (2 December).

It’s not yet clear if the interview will be available to watch in the UK in the coming days.

Alec Baldwin set to open up about meeting Halyna Hutchins’ family

Thursday 2 December 2021 22:18 , Elizabeth Aubrey

Speaking to his colleagues on air yesterday, ABC news anchor George Stephanopoulos said that Baldwin opened up to him about meeting the family of Halyna Hutchins.

Stephanopoulos said: “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.”

Previously, Hutchins’ father has said he does not hold Baldwin accountable for the accidental death of his daughter.

“We still can’t believe Halyna is dead and her mother is going out of her mind with grief,” Anatoly Androsovych, Ms Hutchins’s father, told The Sun on Sunday. “But I don’t hold Alec Baldwin responsible – it is the responsibility of the props people who handle the guns.”

You can read the full report from my colleague Graig Graziosi here:

Father of slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins says he blames armoury team

Sheriff questions Alec Baldwin’s claims that he didn’t pull the trigger

Thursday 2 December 2021 23:08 , Elizabeth Aubrey

A sheriff has questioned Alec Baldwin’s claim that he didn’t pull the trigger on the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins on set.

“The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger,” Baldwin told George Stephanopoulos in the upcoming interview, which airs later today (December 2) on ABC at 8pm ET.

He added: “No, no, no, no, I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger. Never.”

Now, a sheriff from the Sante Fe Sheriff’s Department has questioned that claim in a new interview with Fox News Digital.

“Guns don’t just go off,” Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the news outlet.

“So whatever needs to happen to manipulate the firearm, he did that and it was in his hands.”

The department is currently awaiting results from the FBI which would shed light on how the gun could have been fired.

Alec Baldwin spotted ahead of ABC interview

Thursday 2 December 2021 23:20 , Elizabeth Aubrey

Alec Baldwin has been spotted out in New York City close to his home today (December 2) ahead of his first interview since the shooting of Halyna Hutchins.

That’s according to a new report in The Daily Mail, which captured Baldwin and his wife Hilaria ahead of the interview airing this evening.

Viewers are deciding whether or not to watch the interview

Thursday 2 December 2021 23:26 , Elizabeth Aubrey

Meanwhile, viewers on social media are struggling to decide whether or not to watch the interview.

One Twitter user said it would be “too emotional” while another said it was “too soon” to be doing an interview.

You can see some of their thoughts here:

Alec Baldwin recently called for greater monitoring of gun use on set

Thursday 2 December 2021 23:37 , Elizabeth Aubrey

Alec Baldwin has said very little publicly since the death of Halyna Hutchins aside from an official statement after the incident on 21 October.

The actor did however share a tweet where he called for police officers to be present on film and television sets to monitor gun usage during filming.

Baldwin, 63, shared his thoughts his now locked Twitter account calling for police officers to be hired for any set that requires a prop gun.

He wrote: “Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons safely.”

You can read more about this ahead of his tell-all ABC interview here:

Alec Baldwin calls for on-set police to monitor gun usage during filming

Tough questions ahead for Alec Baldwin

Thursday 2 December 2021 23:51 , Elizabeth Aubrey

In a clip shared from ABC ahead of the interview this evening, long-time news anchor George Stephanopoulos can be seen asking Baldwin some tough questions.

At one point, he is seen asking Baldwin: “How do you respond to actors like George Clooney who say that every time they were handed a gun they checked it themselves?”

His response to that will air latter today on ABC news at 8pm.

It comes as many in the industry are questioning the use of live guns on film sets in the wake of the tragedy.

Last month, Dwayne Johnson said he will no longer use real guns on the set of his productions following the Rust shooting.

Johnson told Variety that the incident has left him “heartbroken”, adding: “We lost a life. My heart goes out to her family and everybody on set. I’ve known Alec, too, for a very long time.”

The actor then pledged “without an absence of clarity” that “any movie that we have moving forward with [the production company he co-founded] Seven Bucks Productions — any movie, any television show, or anything we do or produce — we won’t use real guns at all”.

He added: “We’re going to switch over to rubber guns, and we’re going to take care of it in post [production],” he said. “We’re not going to worry about the dollars; we won’t worry about what it costs.”

Johnson’s decision echoes calls across the industry to improve safety on film and TV sets, particularly when guns are involved.

You can read the full report about that here:

Dwayne Johnson won’t use real guns on set following Rust shooting

The lawyer of ‘Rust’s assistant director backs up Baldwin’s assertion that he didn’t pull the trigger

Thursday 2 December 2021 23:58 , Elizabeth Aubrey

The assistant director who handed Alec Baldwin a prop gun that went off has backed up Baldwin’s assertion in an interview that he didn’t pull the trigger of the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Lisa Torraco, a lawyer for assistant director David Halls told ABC news that Halls always maintained that Baldwin did not pull the trigger.

“He told me since day one he thought it was a misfire,” Torraco said (via AP news)

“Until Alec said that, it was just really hard to believe, but Dave has told me since the very first day I met him, that Alec did not pull that trigger.” Torraco added.

It comes after ABC released a clip yesterday (2 December) in which Baldwin said he did not pull the trigger before the gun fired, killing Hutchins and wounding the film’s director.

“Is this the worst thing that’s ever happened to you?"

00:05 , Elizabeth Aubrey

In a clip ahead of tonight’s interview, ABC news anchor George Stephanopoulos asks Baldwin if this incident “is the worst thing that’s happened to you,” to which Baldwin replies “yes”.

He was starring in a western film called Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he allegedly discharged a prop firearm, killing Halyna Hutchins, the director of photography, and injuring the director.

Cinematographer Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to hospital where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel, authorities said, while director Joel Souza, 48, was taken by ambulance and treated for his injuries before later being discharged.

His interview tonight will explore what happened on set more, according to Stephanopoulos.

You can see a clip of the upcoming interview here:

A look back at Alec Baldwin’s career

00:30 , Elizabeth Aubrey

Ahead of the interview on ABC this evening, you can read a retrospective of Alec Baldwin’s career here:

A history of Alec Baldwin’s career and life

How ‘so many levels of failures’ led to the Rust shooting

00:53 , Josh Marcus

Ahead of Alec Baldwin’s hotly anticipated interview on ABC about the shooting on the set of the upcoming film Rust, it’s worth revisiting the “many levels of failures” that lead to Halyna Hutchins’s tragic death, including reportedly poor safety conditions.

Mary Carmack-Altwies, a district attorney in New Mexico investigating the shooting, said she hasn’t found any evidence of intentional “sabotage” behind the gun going off, but that police have recovered other live rounds from the set of the film.

Prosecutor denies sabotage on Rust set but points to ‘so many levels of failures’

Police have also said that they were concerned about “complacency” on set around safety, creating conditions that led multiple staff members to walk off in protest the day of the shooting.

Police to probe ‘tensions’ on Rust set that led to walkout hours before

Alec Baldwin’s interview about the Rust shooting with ABC begins

01:08 , Josh Marcus

Alec Baldwin’s interview with ABC about the shooting on the set of Rust has begun.

The conversation can be watched live at 5pm ET on ABC, at 8pm PT on the West Coast of the US, or streamed online.

Alec Baldwin said he would go ‘to any lengths’ to take back Rust shooting

01:12 , Josh Marcus

Rust actor Alec Baldwin said he would “go to any lengths” to take back the accidental shooting that claimed the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October.

“I would go to any lengths to undo what happened,” he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in the interview aired on Thursday.

“She was someone who was beloved by everyone we worked with, loved by everyone we worked with, someone who was admired by everyone who worked with her,” Mr Baldwin continued, breaking into tears.

Alec Baldwin assumed armourer was “up to the job” before shooting

01:17 , Josh Marcus

Alec Baldwin said he assumed that Hannah Gutierrez Read, the armourer for Rust, was “up to the job” when it came to handling firearms on set.

“I assumed that because she was there and she was hired that she was up to the job,” Mr Baldwin said, even though Ms Read had only worked on a few films.

In his interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin described a session where he spent an hour-and-a-half practicing with the pistol, going over safety protocols. Eventually, there were multiple accidental discharges of prop pistols on set ahead of the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins.

Alec Baldwin ‘never heard’ of safety issues on set before fatal shooting

01:24 , Josh Marcus

Alec Baldwin said he “never heard” of safety issues on set before the accidental fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with a prop gun.

“I never heard one word about that,” he said. “None.”

Alec Baldwin describes letting go of ‘hammer’ of gun before fatal Rust shooting, despite denying pulling trigger

01:32 , Josh Marcus

During his tell-all interview with ABC on Thursday, actor Alec Baldwin described the split seconds before the accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the the film Rust.

“I’m holding the gun where she told me to hold it,” he said, before describing how he released the “hammer” of the gun and a shot rang out.

Mr Baldwin has denied pulling the trigger of the weapon that killed Ms Hutchins.

Emotional Alec Baldwin denies pulling trigger of gun that killed Halyna Hutchins

Alec Baldwin describes emotional meeting with Halyna Hutchins’s family

01:40 , Josh Marcus

After the fatal shooting on the set of Rust, Alec Baldwin met with the family of deceased cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Mr Baldwin said he was overcome with emotion meeting her children, as he described during a highly anticipated interview with ABC on Thursday. “I think to myself, this little boy doesn’t have a mother anymore,” Baldwin said.

He added that he and Mr Hutchins shared a memorable exchange as well.

“I suppose you and I are going to go through this together,” he said.

George Clooney comments on Rust shooting ‘really didn’t help'

01:45 , Josh Marcus

Alec Baldwin criticised fellow actor George Clooney’s comments in the wake of the Rust shooting, where Mr Clooney said he checks every single prop gun he handles personally before firing it.

“You have your protocols, you check the gun every time. Good for you,” Mr Baldwin said during his interview today with ABC, arguing the comments “really didn’t help the situation.”

‘I let go of the hammer and the gun goes off’: Alec Baldwin admits firing weapon that killed Rust cinematographer but insists he did not pull trigger

01:58 , Josh Marcus

Alec Baldwin has revealed for the first time how he fired the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins - saying he released the pistol’s hammer, after being asked to enact a shooting scene by her.

The Independent’s Andrew Buncombe has the story.

Alec Baldwin reveals how he fired weapon that killed Rust cinematographer

Alec Baldwin describes personal torment after Rust shooting

02:04 , Josh Marcus

Actor Alec Baldwin described his personal anguish after the accidental fatal shooting on the set of Rust, feeling despondent about his career and waking up from nightmares about guns.

“I have dreams about this constantly now,” he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Thursday. “I wake up constantly where guns are going off.”

Alec Baldwin says he ‘couldn’t give a s***’ if career is over after Rust shooting

02:18 , Josh Marcus

Alec Baldwin has been personally tormented after he accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October on the set of the upcoming film Rust, describing in an interview on Thursday how he has been having nightmares about guns and would have considered suicide if he thought he was responsible.

“I have dreams about this constantly now. I wake up constantly where guns are going off,” he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an interview aired on Thursday. “I haven’t slept for weeks. I’ve really been struggling physically. I’m exhausted from this.”

I’ve got more details on this breaking news story here.

Alec Baldwin says he ‘couldn’t give a s***’ if career is over after Rust shooting

Signing off

02:40 , Josh Marcus

That’s all for tonight’s live coverage of Alec Baldwin’s tell-all interview about the Rust shooting.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned with The Independent for the latest news, commentary, and analysis on this story and more.