Alec Baldwin spoke about his physical, mental and lifestyle struggles in the wake of the fatal shooting that took place while filming 2024’s Rust.
During the Friday, December 19, episode of the “Dopey” podcast, Baldwin, 67, opened up about how the 2021 on-set incident, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, “broke every nerve in my body, spiritually, financially, work-wise, career.”
While he refrained from going into detail of his decline, the actor told host David Manheim, “If I told you what my health conditions have been since October 21 of 2021 … it’s taken 10 years off of my life.” (Hutchins died on that date at the age of 42.)
Baldwin also said that “there was a time when I took a nap every day for a year,” revealing that at one point, he “couldn’t even move.”
Hutchins, a director of photography for Rust, was killed on the film’s New Mexico set after Baldwin fired a prop gun that also injured director Joel Souza. Souza and Hutchins were both rushed to the hospital after sustaining injuries, and she was pronounced dead at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. (Souza was released one day later.)
Baldwin spoke publicly about the incident on October 22, 2021, sharing a statement via X. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” he wrote at the time. “I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
The film’s production company, Rust Movie Productions LLC, also announced via a statement, “The entire cast and crew has been absolutely devastated by today’s tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Halyna’s family and loved ones. We have halted production on the film for an undetermined period of time and are fully cooperating with the Santa Fe Police Department’s investigation. We will be providing counseling services to everyone connected to the film as we work to process this awful event.”
In January 2023, Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. He went to trial and pleaded not guilty the following month, maintaining his innocence throughout.
All criminal charges were dropped against him in April 2023. However, he was indicted again on involuntary manslaughter charges in July 2024. First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the second indictment by the month’s end.
A gaffer on the film’s set, Serge Svetnoy, scheduled a planned deposition from Baldwin in September; however, the actor’s legal team told Svetnoy on August 28 that his plans would not move forward. (Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March 2024 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.)
Baldwin spoke in detail about the incident during an interview with ABC News in December 2021. The actor, who cried as he recounted the day’s events, said, “[The] trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never. I have no idea [how a bullet got in there]. Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”
He added that the event was “the worst thing” that had ever happened to him. “Because I think back and I think, ‘What could I have done?’” he explained.
Hutchins is survived by husband Matthew Hutchins and their son, Andos, as well as her parents, Olga Solovey and Anatolii Androsovych, and sister, Svetlana Zemko.
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