Baldwin details how gun misfired on ‘Rust’ set despite trigger never being pulled

Actor Alec Baldwin in his first sit-down TV interview since the fatal shooting on the “Rust” film set detailed how his gun misfired, alleging the firearm’s trigger was never pulled. 

Baldwin told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos that the incident happened during a marking rehearsal, during which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins directed Baldwin to hold the gun at a certain angle for the film. 

“She’s guiding me through how she wants me to hold the gun for this angle, and I draw the gun out and I find a mark. I draw the gun out — if I don’t, cut. And what’s really urgent is the gun wasn’t meant to be fired in that angle,” Baldwin said.

“I’m shooting just off … in her direction. I’m holding the gun where she told me to hold it, which ended up being aimed right below her armpit was what I was told, I don’t know. This was a completely incidental shot, an angle that may not have ended up in the film at all,” he continued.

Baldwin explained that as he cocked the firearm he was using — putting the hammer of the weapon under spring tension in preparation for firing — he let go of the hammer, and the gun discharged. 

“So then I said to her ‘Now in this scene, I’m going to cock the gun.’ I said, ‘Do you want to see that?’ And she said, ‘Yes.’ So I take the gun, and I start to cock the gun. I’m not going to pull the trigger,” Baldwin told Stephanopoulos. “I said, ‘Do you see the shot? ‘Well just cheat it down and tilt it down a little bit like that.’ And I cock the gun and I go ‘Can you see that? Can you see that? Can you see that?’ And she says — and I let go of the hammer of the gun and the gun goes off.”

The emotional and intense interview comes as officials are investigating the deadly incident. Baldwin reportedly fired a gun by accident in October while on the set of the “Rust” film, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

Baldwin told the ABC anchor that he was under the impression that the gun was “cold,” meaning that it contained no explosive charges. 

The film set has also been embroiled in other, related controversies, including concerns raised by crew members about two earlier accidental discharges before the incident. A group of crew members walked off the set just hours before the scene took palace.

But Baldwin said he did not hear any safety concerns or issues while he was on the set.

“I did not observe any safety or security issues at all in the time I was there,” Baldwin said.