Wild Video: Alec Baldwin Denies Pulling the Trigger in His First Interview Since His Cinemaphotographer was Shot and Killed

Daily Mail - Alec Baldwin wept as he described accidentally shooting dead his cinematographer on the set of his film Rust during an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.

Baldwin revealed the horror he felt when he picked up the gun and it went off, killing Halyna Hutchins.

'I think back, I think: 'What could I have done?' Baldwin said in a teaser of the interview that's set to air tomorrow.

He insists that he never pulled the trigger but said it appeared to inexplicitly fire on its own.

'The trigger wasn't pulled, I didn't pull the trigger,' he said, often having to pause to collect himself, or wipe away a tear.

'I would never point a gun at anyone at point a trigger at them, never.' 

It's not yet known why the weapon was loaded with a real bullet. 

'Someone put a live bullet in the gun - a bullet that wasn't even supposed to be on the property,' Baldwin said.

If you're going to tease an exclusive interview to generate viewers, there aren't many better ways I can think of than this. You've got a high profile, A-list, but highly polarizing celebrity. He's been front and center of the biggest tragedy to strike Hollywood in years. You've got him denying any blame. And even, it seems, any involvement. And in the trailer for the show, you leave a bunch of questions asked, but literally unanswered. "Tune in tommorrow," indeed. Well done, ABC News marketing department. Well done.

And if your Alec Baldwin, or whoever is advising him, you can't do much better to salvage what you can out of the smoldering wreckage of his career and reputation than to say this. I didn't pull the trigger. I never would. I wouldn't even point a gun in someone's general direction. There wasn't supposed to be an actual bullet anywhere in the area. I don't know how it got on the set. Big, if true. 

Except that doesn't explain much. Here he's sounding like an innocent bystander. As if it could've happened to anyone, he just had the pure dumb luck of being the one holding the prop when the bullet fired itself. Which begs so many questions of my own, I almost don't know where to begin.

For instance, how do you portray a character in a Western who fires a gun if you don't believe in pulling triggers? Was the finger pulling the trigger going to be CGI'ed in in post-production, like Henry Cavill's clean-shaven upper lip in "Batman v. Superman?"

If you don't point guns at anyone, ever, how did this particular round find its mark in Halyna Hutchins body? Are we claiming a Warren Commission-like Magic Bullet theory? 

If the live ammo wasn't supposed to be on the set, who put it there? And why? 

And how does Alec Baldwin manage to absolve himself of blame when all this was happening in an Alec Baldwin production? Especially when everyone who has spoken out so far as described a movie set that was in chaos, with people not getting paid and experienced professionals walking away from the production over safety concerns and being replaced (allegedly) by inexperienced novices? 

I swear I am not trying to flippant here. A woman is dead. But that's precisely why we need to look at all of this with with maximum skepticism. She deserves that. 

And a man deserves to be considered innocent until proven guilty. Even if people are predisposed to stomping Baldwin over this because he's been a hugely outspoken anti-gun guy. But at the same time, he's a great actor. Which makes it hard to buy what he's selling here. Not everyone can cry on cue when then need to. It's a skill that few possess. He no doubt can. I've seen this man play some of my favorite characters, from Jack Ryan to Blake from "Glengarry Glen Ross" to Jack Donaghy. His range is incredible. He can do pathos and comedy and everything in between. If he was some shitty, one-dimensional actor with zero range who is only capable of acting himself like, say, Mark Wahlberg, I'd consider his tears a lot more genuine. 

Which is not to say I'm insisting Baldwin is lying in this clip. Just that I have my doubts and will reserve judgment until I've seen the full interview. But in a case like this, you can be a victim of your own talent.