Alec Baldwin makes acting comeback in Italian Christmas comedy

Just five months after the fatal shooting of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, movie star Alec Baldwin is set to resume work in Italy.

With justice running its course, the 63-year-old actor is trying to turn a new page as he is expected to arrive in Rome, on Sunday, March 27, to begin filming two Italian features, Kid Santa and Billie’s Magic World, which are both billed as live-action/animation family Christmas comedies.

Independent Italian production company Minerva Pictures have confirmed Baldwin and his brother, Daniel Baldwin, have been cast and will produce both films.

News of Baldwin’s surprising return to acting comes two weeks after new court filings claim Baldwin had tried to encourage the cast and crew of Rust to complete filming the Western movie weeks after the fatal on-set shooting.

According to the New York Times, Baldwin’s legal team reportedly wanted to complete filming the movie as a way to support the late cinematographer’s husband Matthew Hutchins and their 9-year-old son, through movie profits and insurance payouts.

Earlier this month, lawyers for the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez,  released a statement alleging the actor pointed the prop gun at Hutchins despite it being a violation of safety protocol.

“Mr Baldwin knew that he could never point a firearm at crew members under any circumstances and had a duty of safety to his fellow crew members,” attorney Jason Bowles said in a statement obtained by ABC. “Yet he did point the gun at Halyna before the fatal incident against all rules and common sense.”

This statement comes as a response to the wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin and the production filed by the Hutchins family last month.

The lawsuit claimed Baldwin “and the other defendants, in this case, failed to perform industry-standard safety checks and follow basic gun safety rules while using real guns to produce the movie Rust, with fatal consequences.”

However, the Times reports Baldwin’s team is claiming that the actor is “not financially liable for the tragedy based on his contract as a producer and star.” He also reportedly wants his legal fees covered.

Up until now, Baldwin has continued to defend his innocence and maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the gun which killed Hutchins.