A principal actor on Rust has said that a scene where he was shot at in the movie felt “life-threatening”.
Ian A Hudson, who played an outlaw in the film, recalled an experience on set when he was exposed to gunfire while the camera and crew were protected by a shield.
“That made me question me being in front of the camera and being between all of that fire. When the rounds were released I did feel the blanks hitting my face and my body,” Hudson told TMZ.
Safety practices on the set of Rust are being investigated by authorities in New Mexico after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot dead on the set on Thursday.
Alec Baldwin, an actor and producer on Rust, had been practising a “cross-draw” weapons firing technique and was aiming at a camera when a prop gun went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Since the incident, it has emerged that the assistant director who handed Baldwin the gun that killed Hutchins had been sacked from a film in 2019 after a prop gun accidentally fired on the set of the movie Freedom’s Path, injuring a crew member.
Authorities in Sante Fe have released statements by Rust director Joel Souza and a cameraman who said last week’s accidental shooting happened during a scene filmed inside a mock church.
On Sunday, hundreds attended a vigil for cinematographer Hutchins in Albuquerque, New Mexico. An investigation into the shooting is continuing.
