ABC on Thursday aired the full interview given by actor Alec Baldwin to George Stephanopoulos, the first time Baldwin spoke in depth about the shooting that killed a cinematographer on the set of his film in October.
"Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but it’s not me," Baldwin said in the interview, as quoted by The Associated Press, adding, "Honest to god, if I felt I was responsible, I might have killed myself."
The actor added that it is essential for investigators to find out who put the bullet in the gun he fired, which was supposed to be empty, and which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded the film’s director Joel Souza.
"There’s only one question to be resolved, and that´s where did the live round come from?" Baldwin told Stephanopoulos.
He said it was Hutchins herself who asked him to point the gun just off camera and toward her armpit before it went off.
Baldwin said that at Hutchins’ direction he pulled the hammer back.
"I let go of the hammer and ‘bang’ the gun goes off," he added.
Stephanopoulos told Baldwin that many say you should never point a gun directly at someone on a set, to which the actor responded, "Unless the person is the cinematographer who was directing me where to point the gun for her camera angle."
Baldwin said it was 45 minutes to an hour before he began to understand that a live round had been in the gun, and didn't know it for sure until he was being interviewed hours later. He thought Hutchins might have been hurt by a blank at close range or had a heart attack.
Baldwin clarified he was doing the interview to counter public misconceptions about the shooting and to make it clear that "I would go to any lengths to undo what happened."
"I want to make sure that I don´t come across like I'm the victim because we have two victims here," he stressed.
Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, said there was no indication to him that crew members were unhappy with safety conditions on the set, though some resigned over the issue.
"I never heard one word about that, none," Baldwin added and said that complaints about cost-cutting on the film have been misguided.
"Everybody who makes movies has the responsibility not to be reckless and careless with the money that you're given," he said.
Asked by Stephanopoulos whether the cost-cutting compromised safety, Baldwin replied, "In my opinion no."
Baldwin also said he does not believe he will be criminally charged in the shooting.
According to court records, the movie’s assistant director Dave Halls handed the gun to Baldwin and yelled, "Cold gun," indicating that it was loaded with blanks.
Baldwin then fired, hitting cinematographer Hutchins in the chest and director Souza in the shoulder. Hutchins later died in hospital of her wounds.
Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said recently that criminal charges have not been ruled out in the incident.
Carmack-Altwies also said it was incorrect to refer to the firearm used in the incident as a "prop gun."
"It was a legit gun. It was an antique-era appropriate gun," she said.
Carmack-Altwies added an "enormous amount of bullets" had been found on the set and an investigation was needed into the nature of that ammunition.