Rust director Joel Souza has given his first interview since he was shot on set in October 2021 by actor Alec Baldwin. Talking to Vanity Fair, the director spoke about the experience and shared his opinion on the actor’s involuntary manslaughter charge. Heartbreakingly, he also shared that he hoped he ‘didn’t wake up the next morning’ due to pain.

‘There’s no relationship’

Joel was asked if he had an opinion on Alec being charged with involuntary manslaughter. He said, “Does it matter if I think it’s fair or not? There is an argument that says, if he checks it and starts fiddling around with it, he’s creating a safety issue. And then there is another thing that says, it’s common sense, Jesus Christ. Be careful with this goddamn thing. So I don’t know anymore, to be honest with you. The charges got filed. That’s what they decided to do. Was he overcharged? I don’t know.”

Despite his injury, he returned to set to complete rest of the film’s shoot. When asked if he shared a relationship with Alec then, he said, “Getting through it was tough. We got through it. I got the performance I wanted. We’re not friends. We’re not enemies. There’s no relationship.” Joel also said it was ‘bizarre’ to have been shot by Alec because he ‘remembered watching The Hunt For Red October (1990) in theatre’ as a kid and thought, ‘Hey, that guy…someday…’

Rust shooting

The shooting occurred on set in 2021 when Alec accidentally fired a prop gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and seriously injured Joel. The director was standing behind the cinematographer and directing a scene when the gun fired. It hit Halyna in the chest and struck Joel in the shoulder. The director described it as ‘being kicked by a horse’. Rust’s shooting was wrapped up in March this year and is yet to get a release date.

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