Alec Baldwin details ‘Rust’ shooting: “I thought to myself, ‘Did she faint?’”

In an exclusive interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, which aired Thursday night, actor Alec Baldwin detailed the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his film “Rust.” While rehearsing a scene with the Hutchins, Baldwin accidentally fired a live round which killed the cinematographer and injured director Joel Souza.

“[I pulled] the hammer as far back as I could without cocking the actual gun,” Baldwin explained. “I'm just showing. I go, ‘How 'bout that? Does that work? You see that? Do you see that?’ And then she goes, ‘Yeah, that's good.’ I let go of the hammer, bang! The gun goes off.”

The bullet struck Hutchins in the chest, but at the time Baldwin claims he didn’t know there was a live round in the gun.

“She goes down,” Baldwin said. “I thought to myself, ‘Did she faint?’ The notion that there was a live round in that gun did not dawn on me 'till probably 45 minutes to an hour later.”

The bullet exited Hutchins and lodged in Souza’s shoulder, and it wasn’t until a sheriff showed Baldwin a picture of the slug that he realized what had actually happened.

“No one had any idea until that sheriff's officer said to me, ‘This is the slug. .45 caliber slug they took out of Joel's arm,’” Baldwin recalled. “And then the kind of insanity inducing agony of thinking that someone put a live bullet in the gun.”

Video Transcript

ALEC BALDWIN: I said to her, now in this scene, I'm going to cock the gun. And 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.

KYLIE MAR: In an exclusive interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, which aired Thursday night, actor Alec Baldwin detailed the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his film, "Rust." And he explained how the shooting took place despite not pulling the trigger.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: So you had this Colt 45, you just pulled--

ALEC BALDWIN: The hammer, as far back as I could, without cocking the actual gun.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And you're holding on to the hammer?

ALEC BALDWIN: I'm holding on-- I'm just showing her. I go, how about that? Does that work? Do you see that? Do you see that? Is that-- she goes, yeah, that's good. I let go of the hammer-- bang, the gun goes.

KYLIE MAR: The bullet struck Hutchins in the chest. But at the time, Baldwin claims he didn't know there was a live round in the gun.

ALEC BALDWIN: She goes down. I thought to myself, did she faint? The notion that there was a live round in that gun, did not dawn on me until probably 45 minutes to an hour later.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: 45 minutes to an hour?

KYLIE MAR: The bullet exited Hutchins and lodged into director Joel Souza's shoulder, and it wasn't until a Sheriff showed Baldwin a picture of the slug that he realized what had actually happened.

ALEC BALDWIN: No one had any idea until that police officer, that Sheriff's officer said to me, this is the slug, 45 caliber slug they took out of Joel's arm. And then the kind of insanity-inducing agony of thinking that someone put a live bullet in the gun.