Alec Baldwin offered insight into the effects of the 2021 shooting on set of the film Rust—which claimed the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins—saying the matter “broke every nerve” in his body.
Alec Baldwin is still grappling with lingering trauma.
More than four years after a tragic accident on set of the Western film Rust resulted in cinematographer Halyna Hutchins being fatally shot, the actor discussed the extensive toll the incident and its aftermath have taken on him.
During his appearance on the Dec. 19 episode of the Dopey podcast, Alec, 67, said the ordeal “broke every nerve in my body, spiritually, financially, work-wise, career.”
“If I told you what my health conditions have been since October 21 of 2021,” he continued, referring to the date of the harrowing event, “it’s taken 10 years off of my life.”
Indeed, the Emmy winner—who twice faced charges of involuntary manslaughter before the case was dismissed with prejudice in July 2024—had a visceral reaction to the fallout from Halyna’s death at age 42.
“There was a time when I took a nap every day for a year,” he recalled, adding that at one point, he “couldn’t even move.”
Earlier this year, Alec—who shares seven kids with wife Hilaria Baldwin as well as daughter Ireland, 30, with ex-wife Kim Basinger—offered insight into the long-term mental health effects of the situation, including the lengthy legal journey that resulted from it. (Alec filed a civil lawsuit for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations in January.)
Lev“This has been just surreal,” Alec told Hilaria during an episode of their TLC reality series The Baldwins in February. “I can’t even believe that we’re going through this, and I always feel more in pain about you than me, because I think to myself, ‘Well, I’m going to try to my best to get through it.’ And I think what it’s done to you and how much it’s hurt you.’”
And although Hilaria, 41, acknowledged the ways her husband had been affected by the matter, Alec credited his family for giving him the will to move forward.
“From the bottom of my soul,” he said, “I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have you or these kids.”
For more details on the tragic Rust shooting, keep reading.
Alec Baldwin’s Fateful Rehearsal Scene
Video of Alec Baldwin rehearsing the scene in which he drew his gun inside an old church on the film set at Bonanza Creek Ranch was played for the jury as opening statements got underway July 10.
“So whip it out?” he’s heard asking as he practices drawing the gun from behind his jacket three times.
Defense attorney Alex Spiro emphasized in his opening statement that his client is an actor, and that even if he did pull the trigger of the gun (which Baldwin has repeatedly denied doing), he wasn’t responsible for Halyna Hutchins‘ death.
“He did not know, or have any reason to know,” Spiro said, “that gun was loaded with a live bullet.”
911 Call Refers to Rust Assistant Director
Spiro played the 911 call made by a script supervisor on the set after Hutchins was shot at 1:46 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2021.
“This f—–g AD that yelled at me at lunch asking about revisions,” the caller said, “this motherf–ker… he’s responsible.”
First assistant director David Halls was sentenced to six months unsupervised probation in March 2023 after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
Investigators determined that Halls and production armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were the last people to handle the gun that discharged the fatal bullet before it was given to Baldwin.
Gutierrez was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March and sentenced to a maximum 18 months in jail, the same sentence Baldwin is facing if convicted.
Alec Baldwin’s Behavior After the Shooting Under Scrutiny
LeFleur acknowledged under cross-examination that, while he testified for the prosecution that he told Baldwin not to speak with fellow witnesses, he did not approach or otherwise re-instruct the actor to stop talking to others. The officer also said yes when Spiro asked if, more often than not, people were going up to Baldwin to speak with him.
Moreover, Spiro contended, there were eventually numerous police cruisers on set and Baldwin could have been asked to sit in any one of them, separate from the others, but no officer had him do so. LeFleur agreed with that assessment.
Live Rounds Found With Blanks on Rust Set
Investigators found live bullets along with so-called dead ones when they searched the Rust set following the shooting, Santa Fe Sherriff’s Office crime scene technician Marissa Poppell testified July 11.
There were live rounds in the prop cart, inside a munition box and in gun holsters for two actors, she acknowledged during Spiro’s cross-examination. Image shown in court showed that the live ammo had a silver dot at the bottom, while the dummies were more golden or bronze.
“Your working theory, as you evaluated the ammunition and looked at the similarity between the Starline nickel live and the Starline nickel dummies is that they could have been easily commingled there?” Spiro asked.
She said yes. Added Spiro? “In other words, somebody could have mistaken one for the other, right?”
Poppell replied, “Yes.”
According to her July 10 testimony, Poppell was the one who collected Baldwin’s shoulder holster from the church after the shooting and it held one live round of ammunition.
Alec Baldwin Told Wife Hilaria to Come to New Mexico After the Shooting
Hearing motions during the jury’s lunch break, First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer allowed prosecutors to introduce into evidence a portion of a phone call Baldwin made to wife Hilaria Baldwin from the police station after Hutchins was shot—in which he encouraged her to visit him in New Mexico, saying they’d “have fun.”
Baldwin didn’t know Hutchins had died when he made the call, but knew she was seriously injured, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey asserted in court.
“If the defense hasn’t spent all of this time saying how…panicked and upset he was,” Morrissey said, “I’m not sure that it would be relevant, but he is actually planning basically a vacation.”
The judge told Baldwin’s lawyers, who objected on several points, “I do find that it’s relevant to basically respond to you all talking about how upset Mr Baldwin was, and certainly you considered that fact of consequence.”
Crime Scene Tech Denies Burying Evidence
Under Spiro’s cross, Poppell denied withholding evidence by not adding a box of bullets she was given by a “good Samaritan” after Gutierrez’s trial to the overall Rust-related evidence, or by not showing it to the defense. She said she never gave any evidence to the defense.
Morrissey identified the person who gave Poppell the munitions as a friend of Gutierrez’s father, veteran Hollywood armorer Thell Reed. The prosecutor insinutated the man was looking to implicate Seth Kenney, the Rust weapon supplier, in bringing live rounds to the set.
Poppell said during redirect that she had no evidence that Kenney had brought the live rounds to set, but she did have evidence that Gutierrez did.
Gutierrez’s attorney Jason Bowles told NBC News it was “beyond shocking” that the bullets in question weren’t tested to see if they were the same kind as others found on the Rust set.
“They were hiding the ball until called out on it in trial,” Bowles said. “If you want to get to the truth, you run down all leads.”
The Jury Is Unexpectedly Excused for the Day After Defense Files Expedited Motion to Dismiss
The jury had only been seated for a brief time on the morning of July 12 when Judge Sommer sent them home for the day in the wake of the defense’s motion accusing the state of burying evidence.
Poppell testified to receiving a box of ammunition from former Arizona police officer Troy Teske—a friend of Gutierrez’s father previously identified as a “good Samaritan” but since identified in court—after Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March for her role in Hutchins’ death.
Spiro previously questioned Poppell about why did she didn’t put the box with the rest of the Rust case evidence.
This morning, before the jury was brought in, Poppell again denied intentionally hiding anything, telling Spiro she was instructed to file the box under another case number, so she did.
The defense’s motion alleges the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and the state “concealed from Baldwin that there was evidence that the live round came from Seth Kenney.”
After a lunch break, the prosecution called PDQ Props owner Kenney, who was hired to provide the Rust production with prop firearms and dummy rounds, to testify without the jury present as part of a hearing on the defense’s motion.
Kenney testified that, having supplied more than a thousand productions with dummy rounds, “there was never a question” in his mind as to whether he could have brought the live rounds to set.
Morrissey called the defense’s attempt to blame Kenney “a wild goose chase.”
Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey Takes the Stand
Morrissey willingly agreed to take the witness stand to explain her role—or lack thereof, as she attested—in the box of ammunition delivered by Teske not being included in the Rust case evidence.
She testified that Gutierrez’s attorney Jason Bowles was aware that Teske wanted to give him the ammunition in question and that, once Bowles showed her a photo of the rounds in question, to her they looked “dissimilar” to the live rounds found on the Rust set.
Morrissey said Bowles informed Teske he wouldn’t be calling him as a witness. She also said that, once Teske brought the rounds to the Santa Fe County Sherrif’s Office, then-Det. (now Cpl.) Alexandra Hancock told her they’d be put into evidence.
Morrissey testified she had “no idea” it wouldn’t be filed under the Rust case number.
The rounds Teske handed over “would not have hurt the state’s case,” Morrissey said. “It would have been the best evidence I could have hoped for.”
Judge Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin with prejudice, meaning the charge cannot be refiled.
Agreeing with the defense that the state did not disclose possibly consequential evidence, the judge said, “The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.”
Baldwin teared up immediately as it became clear how Sommer was about to rule, as did Hilaria. She attended every day of the trial, along with her brother-in-law Stephen Baldwin.
