'Rust' actor describes ‘life-threatening’ shootout scene before fatal accident involving Alec Baldwin

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An actor who was in a different scene involving firearms on the set of the movie "Rust" is speaking out about his "life-threatening" experience.

Several members of the cast and crew are speaking out following the accidental shooting in which Alec Baldwin discharged a gun on the set that he believed to be unloaded. The incident left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead and director Joel Souza wounded. 

New Mexico-based actor Ian A. Hudson spoke to TMZ about his experience shooting a previous scene that involved guns. Hudson played an outlaw who is eventually gunned down. While filming his death scene, the actor explained that he noticed a lot of things that he believed were unsafe when it came to handling the firearms and making sure the cast and crew were clear of any danger. 

Hudson noted that there were cameras and crew positioned behind him on the set in the direction of real guns that were loaded with blanks were being fired. While he was in the scene and thus directly in the line of fire, he said they were protected by shields. 

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Ian Hudson discussed the safety conditions on the set of the movie "Rust." (Instagram)

"That made me question me being in front of the camera and in between all of that fire," he told the outlet. "When the rounds were released — when they shot at me — I actually did feel the blanks hitting my face and my body, and I could feel the wind from the shotgun being discharged."

The actor said that he remembers feeling like there was a sense of danger on the set given all the munitions being discharged, regardless of whether or not they were blanks.

"It was heavy. It was strong," he said. "I would talk to my fellow cast members afterward and we all agreed how intense that was and how scary and real that was." 

Rust Movie Productions did not immediately reply to Fox News' request for comment.

Since the accidental shooting resulted in a crew member’s death, many have likened it to the shockingly similar 1993 incident on the set of the movie "The Crow" that left actor Brandon Lee dead. Hudson noted that the cast discussed that very incident prior to Hutchins' death.

"That conversation came up a couple of times," Hudson told TMZ. "We're doing this the same way they did it then, 30 years ago. You’ve got to double-check and you’ve got to make sure."

Fortunately, Hudson explained that some of the other actors on the set with more experience than him when it came to firearms did indeed check their weapons, regardless of whether or not they were told the guns were safe to handle or not.  

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Baldwin has since spoken out about the incident, calling it a "tragic accident" and praising Hutchins as a "deeply admired colleague." (Jim Weber/Santa Fe New Mexican)

"As a new actor, I don’t want to cause trouble," he explained. "I don’t want to make an issue about things, I just want to do as well as I can and get the footage that they want. So, I held my tongue for a lot of it."

He added: "But some of the other actors who had worked on a lot more sets than I have as principal characters… They were double and triple-checking our weapons after the armorer gave them to us, whether they were cold or hot." 

According to a search warrant from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office Baldwin was handed a gun that assistant director Dave Halls announced as a "cold gun," a term meaning there were no live rounds inside of it. However, that wasn’t the case and when Baldwin pulled the trigger while rehearsing a scene, the gun fired. 

One of the three people besides Halls and Baldwin who handled the gun was armorer Hanna Gutierrez Reed, who previously questioned her own abilities to run firearms on a movie set in a recent podcast. While her culpability in the accident is being called into question, Hudson noted that he thought she was doing a good job given the circumstances. 

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"Honestly, I think the armorer, as pressed as she was for time, was doing a fantastic job," he said. "I even overheard [director] Joel Souza praise her a couple of times for being as safe as she was and as consistent — and speedy, too, keeping up with the rushed schedule."

An actor involved in a shootout scene on the movie "Rust" spoke out about the "life-threatening" experience on the set.  (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The actor concluded his thoughts on the matter by stating that the fact of the matter is, using real guns on the set of a movie is a dangerous experience. 

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"Discharging any type of projectile is terrifying. Having been shot at multiple times and faking my death for the camera was enlightening to me in all the wrong ways," he said. "It was life-threatening. It felt too surreal and it’s just… It’s really unfortunate to have what happened happen because they were just trying to make a movie."