As a public figure for nearly four decades, he’s used to all eyes being on him, but the Rust shooting shone a totally different spotlight on him: In the courtroom, he was not Alec Baldwin, but Alexander Ray Baldwin.
Alec Baldwin has always maintained his innocence in the death of Halina Hutchins.
“Someone is responsible for what happened. I can’t say who it is, but I know it’s not me,” he said in a December 2021 interview, six weeks after the tragedy on the set of Lust in New Mexico.
This was the first time he’d been on a Hollywood set in nearly 30 years, and he said the biggest question that needed to be answered was why the bullet was there in the first place.
The film’s weapons maker, Hannah Gutierrez, was jailed earlier this year for her role in the film. Mr. Hutchins‘ He was pronounced dead, but investigators determined he was hit by one of at least six live rounds, though the question of what kind of live ammunition that was remains officially unanswered.
Baldwin He did not speak to reporters outside the courtroom. The highly publicized dismissal of his lawsuitAfter nearly four decades of public life, he’s used to being in the spotlight, but this time the spotlight was very different: In court, he wasn’t Hollywood star Alec Baldwin, he was Alexander Ray Baldwin.
The actor was first charged with two counts of manslaughter in 2023. The first requires proof of fundamental negligence, while the second requires proof that there was more than simple negligence, including an aggravated firearms charge, which can carry a prison sentence of up to five years.
The second charge was dropped in February of that year, and then all criminal charges against him were dropped in April.
Hutchins was then charged again in January and the case went to trial despite a motion to dismiss before it began. Lawsuits have also been filed by several crew members and Hutchins’ family members.
But Baldwin, known for films such as The Departed, It’s Complicated and The Hunt for Red October, as well as his performance on Saturday Night Live, has continued to work, with Clearcut, starring opposite Stephen Dorff, due for release next week. She plans to appear on a reality TV show with her family in 2025He has seven young children with his wife, Hilaria, who has supported him in court.
According to movie database IMDb, other upcoming films include “Atravilious” with Leon Addison Brown, Whoopi Goldberg and Jeffrey Wright, “The Santa Claus,” also starring his brother Billy Baldwin, and “Hollywood Heist” with Nick Cannon, Mickey Rourke and Tara Reid.
Among his current projects is the film Rust, which centers around the case. In it, Baldwin plays Harland Rust, an outlaw who leaves his hideout to rescue his grandson, who has been sentenced to death for an accidental murder. It’s unclear when the film will be released.
Filming on the Western has shifted from New Mexico to Paradise Valley, Montana, to resume in April 2023. Hutchins’ husband, Matthew, is serving as executive producer, and Joel Souza, who was injured in the shooting, is set to return as director.
“While it is bittersweet, I am grateful that a talented and dedicated new creative team will join the original cast and crew in completing what Halina and I started,” Souza said at the time.
“Following this tragic accident, our top priority has always been to complete this film in a way that pays tribute to Halina Hutchins’ vision and artistry,” Last Movie Productions attorney Melina Spadon said after Baldwin’s lawsuit was dismissed. “Working with Halina’s husband, Matthew, we look forward to releasing the film to the world.”
Hutchins, 42, was an experienced cinematographer and former action movie crew member accustomed to being on location to bring stories to the big screen and was considered a rising star in the field.
On October 21, 2021, she was reporting to work at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico for a normal day at work when she died after a live bullet was loaded into her gun on a movie set where only blanks and dummy ammunition were supposed to be used.
Hutchins’ family and loved ones now have only memories.
For Baldwin, the criminal case was dismissed and he can now finish his trial. But nearly three years after the tragedy, questions still remain about how live ammunition was brought onto the set.