Halyna Hutchins’ father has spoken out for the first time since the cinematographer was accidentally shot dead by Alec Baldwin.
The tragic incident took place on the Rust movie set in New Mexico last Thursday, when Baldwin, 63, discharged a prop gun that accidentally killed Hutchins and injured the director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has not been arrested or charged following the incident and it’s said he was unaware there was a live round in the gun.
Hutchins, who was 42, was airlifted to hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Her father, Anatoly Androsovych, has now said he isn’t blaming Baldwin for the accident.
Speaking to the Sun On Sunday, he said: ‘We still can’t believe Halyna is dead and her mother is going out of her mind with grief.
‘But I don’t hold Alec Baldwin responsible — it is the responsibility of the props people who handle the guns.’
Hutchins leaves behind her husband Matthew and son Andros, who Androsovych has said is understandably devastated.
‘The little boy has been very badly affected — he is lost without his mother,’ he revealed, adding: ‘Matt will decide if legal action is going to be taken.’
Baldwin has since released a statement expressing his devastation while also stating he has reached out to Hutchins’ family.
Who is Halyna Hutchins?
Halyna Hutchins, a mother of one, was born in the Ukraine and grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle before attending Kyiv National University.
After graduating with a degree in international journalism, she worked as an investigative journalist for British documentaries in Eastern Europe.
However, Hutchins’ true passion lay in filmmaking, and she moved to Los Angeles, where she got work as a production assistant and a grip electric.
She also shot her own short films, inspired by cinematographers including Christopher Doyle and Sergey Urusevskiy.
On the advice of cinematographer Robert Primes, Hutchins enrolled the filmmaking MFA programme at the American Film Institute Conservatory in 2013 and graduated two years later.
In 2018, Hutchins was one of eight female cinematographers selected for the inaugural 21st Century Fox DP Lab, and in 2019, she was chosen as a Rising Star by American Cinematographer magazine.
Hutchins went on to work on films including horrors The Mad Hatter and Darlin’ and police drama Blindfire, and the BET+ series A Luv Tale: The Series.
She also worked on the Joe Mangianello mystery thriller Archenemy, which premiered at Beyond Fest 2020 and received a nomination at the Sitges International Film Festival.
‘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 said.
‘I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred.
‘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.’
It’s said Hutchins was shot in the stomach with filmmaker Souza suffering a shoulder injury before being released from hospital.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been revealed as Rust’s head armorer. A clip from a recent podcast appearance featured her questioning whether she was ‘ready’ to become head armorer on the previous movie The Old Way, starring Nicolas Cage.
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