Kevin Dillon Discusses Movie-Set Gun Safety Experiences in Wake of ‘Rust’ Shooting (Exclusive)

The tragic shooting on the set of Rust shook the movie industry to its core and has led to much reflection on the state of on-set gun safety. Recently, Kevin Dillon — star of the new action-thriller , which features numerous gunfights and shootouts — sat down with PopCulture.com for an exclusive interview about the movie. Over the course of the conversation, he eventually discussed his own personal experience with gun use while working on film sets.

Speaking about filming A Day to Die, Dillon said, “It was fun. It was fun just shooting guns and all that because I’ve done a couple of movies since, and it was all airsoft guns.” The then explained, “They’re really afraid of guns right now because of the situation with Alec Baldwin. But that was the last one I shot full blanks, and I think that really adds to the moment of the action because you get the adrenaline. Everyone gets fired up, and it feels real. And when you’re shooting these little airsoft guns, it’s just not the same. They add the effect in later, but yeah. It was nice to shoot the real thing, really.”

Directly addressing his experiences with guns on set, Dillon shared, “I’ve done so many movies with guns before. It is rare that someone actually gets hurt or killed like this, so I don’t think the whole industry should change. They got to, maybe, just be a little more strict about how the armorers are taking care of it, but most good armorers … I mean, I’ve never … Usually, it’s super, super cautious, and as an actor, myself, I know how to check the weapon, how to clear, put it on safety, never point it at anyone. You kind of shoot away from the other actors. So, there are things, as an actor, to just look out for it, make sure nobody gets hurt.”

Beloved cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on the set of Rust on Oct. 21, after a prop gun that Baldwin was holding, was discharged. The gun was initially not believed to be loaded with live rounds. In addition to Hutchins’ death, the incident also wounded the film’s director, Joel Souza. The tragic incident has led to numerous lawsuits, including one from Hutchins’ family against Baldwin and others associated with the film, while the police investigation appears to remain open.