Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ husband Matthew Hutchins said actor Alec Baldwin was “very supportive” when they spoke following the tragic on-set accident that led to her death on Thursday afternoon. Baldwin was filming the movie Rust at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico when he fired a prop gun without knowing it was loaded with a live bullet. Hutchins, 42, died of her wounds at a nearby hospital, while director Joel Souza was injured and has since been released from a different hospital.
“I have spoken with Alec Baldwin and he is being very supportive,” Matthew, 38, told The Daily Mail Friday. Matthew is a lawyer and shared an 8-year-old son with Hutchins. In an earlier interview with Insider, Matthew said he was appreciative of those who reached out with their condolences. “I don’t think there are words to communicate the situation,” he told Insider by phone. “I am not going to be able to comment about the facts or the process of what we’re going through right now, but I appreciate that everyone has been very sympathetic. I think that we will need a little bit of time before we can really encapsulate her life in a way that is easy to communicate.”
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On Friday morning, Baldwin issued a statement on the tragedy, noting he was fully cooperating with police and said he was in touch with Matthew. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother, and deeply admired colleague of ours,” the actor, who is also a producer on Rust, wrote on Twitter. “I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.” No criminal charges have been filed and police are still investigating the accident.
The local International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union, IATSE Local 44, sent a message to members Friday confirming there was a “live round” in the gun used while filming Rust. The production’s propmaster was not a member of the union, Local 44 Secretary-Treasurer Anthony Pawluc wrote in an email obtained by Indiewire. Hutchins was a member of the International Cinematographers Guild Local 600, but there were no Local 44 members at the production. The cinematographers guild called Hutchins’ death a “terrible loss, and we mourn the passing of a member of our Guild’s family.”
Hutchins was born in Ukraine and graduated from the American Film Institute in 2015. She was listed as a rising star in American Cinematographer in 2019 and previously worked on European documentaries. She was the director of photography on Pollyanna McIntosh’s 2019 horror film Darlin’ and Archenemy, which starred Joe Manganiello. Her last Instagram post was published on Tuesday, showing her riding horseback in New Mexico during her day off from Rust. She lived in Venice Beach with her husband and their son.ย
