Alec Baldwin breaks silence: ‘I didn’t pull the trigger’

Alec Baldwin has broken his silence and given his first formal on-camera interview since firing a prop firearm that accidentally killed one crew member and injured another on the set of his upcoming movie “Rust” on October 21. 

The one-hour-20-minute exclusive interview with Good Morning America, which has been described as “raw” and “intense”, will air Thursday evening at 8 pm in the US. It comes more than a month after the fatal incident that left cinematographer, Halyna Hutchin,42, dead and director Joel Souza, 48, injured. 

In a first look at the upcoming interview, a teary-eyed Baldwin told journalist George Stephanopoulos, “…I didn’t pull the trigger…I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them, never.” 

The interview marks the first time the actor has spoken extensively about the incident. Balwin recounts the events of what happened that onset that tragic day, telling Stephanopoulos that he had no reason to suspect a live bullet could be in a prop gun. 

According to reports, the actor believed the gun was empty. His weapon had been handed to him by assistant director Dave Halls, who allegedly called it a “cold gun.”  

During this morning’s episode of Good Morning America, Stephanopoulos said the actor was “devastated” yet “very candid” and “forthcoming.” Baldwin had answered all his questions and discussed Hutchins and meeting her family.

Stephanopoulos also asked Balwin the question on every investigator’s mind: how could a live bullet make its way onto the set, but the actor had “no idea.”

Asked by @GStephanopoulos how a real bullet got on the “Rust” set, Alec Baldwin says: “I have no idea. Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”

Watch TOMORROW 8pm ET on ABC and stream later on @hulu. https://t.co/fJQly1za1T pic.twitter.com/OnpDuYERiC

— ABC News (@ABC) December 1, 2021

In his initial statement released via Baldwin’s social media accounts, Baldwin said he had “no words to convey” his feelings of “shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident.” 

This rare filming fatality sent shockwaves throughout Hollywood and has forced many to rethink the use of weapons on set as well as production safety. The Santa Fe country sheriff’s office is investigating the shooting, focusing on how live rounds, which are banned on set, came to be in the gun Baldwin was holding.

The ABC special, Alec Baldwin Unscripted, will air in the US on Thursday at 8 PM ET and will be available later on Hulu.