Alec Baldwin to Star in Film About Kent State Shooting Following ‘Rust’ Scandal

Alec Baldwin isn’t letting a shooting tragedy impede his work, in more ways than one. After his own unfortunate incident that occurred on the set of Rust and resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Baldwin will star in a film about the Kent State shooting. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kent State will chronicle the violent and tragic events of May 4, 1970, when four students were shot and killed by the National Guard during a campus protest against the Vietnam War. Baldwin will star as then-Kent State president, Robert I. White. The film is currently in pre-production. Baldwin recently completed the filming of Rust almost 18 months after the fatal shooting. In the Western film, Baldwin plays an outlaw who comes out of hiding to stop his 13-year-old grandson from being hanged for murder.

Baldwin was holding the prop gun that went off and killed Hutchins. Another employee was also shot but recovered from his injuries. Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter for his involvement, but the charges were after an investigation revealed the gun could have gone off on its own. 

“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Baldwin’s attorneys stated on the charges being dropped, as reported by Us Weekly. Baldwin had long maintained that he did not pull the trigger. He also promised he had no idea the prop gun was 

Baldwin told George Stephanopoulos in an emotional sit-down interview that he  “would never” pull the trigger on a gun while pointing it at someone. “I have no idea [how a bullet got in there],” he added. “Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.” Hutchins’ widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit months after the incident.