ALEC Baldwin may be facing involuntary manslaughter charges in the shooting death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, but he has won support from some Hollywood stars.
Young and the Restless star Eric Braeden jumped to the actor’s defense by posting a personal and heartfelt video on his Instagram.
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Eric Braden has been an actor for over sixty years, appearing in blockbusters such as Titanic, Escape from the Planet of the Apes and Den of Thieves.
He is best known for playing Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless, a role he has held for over 44 years.
“Hi, I’m Eric Braeden and I listen to the news,” the actor begins, before adding that he has been “following [Alec Baldwin’s charges and trial] from the start.”
“I’m actually outraged that it’s come to this,” Eric says in the video.
Read more about Alec Baldwin
“I’ve been an actor since 1962,” he continued.
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“I’ve been on more sets with guns – I’ve used more guns in the various guest-starring roles I’ve played, always as the villain – so I know full well that as actors we’re not responsible for knowing whether the damn gun is loaded. or not.”
“The prop comes to you. This has been the case for me for over 60 years.”
“To hold [Baldwin] responsible is just unrealistic, totally unfair, in the sense that as an actor that’s the last thing you think about.”
“I learned to think about this because I did a lot of action shows, from The Rat Patrol onwards, Combat!, etc.
“So only an actor who is really used to being in action moments in films like me, you know” would be thinking about that.
“It’s up to [assistant director] and the assistant to ensure that the actor saw that the gun was not loaded, that there wasn’t even a bullet left.”
“Otherwise you will play Russian Roulette.”
“So it’s been like this for 60 years, throughout my career,” Eric continued.
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“I think Alec Baldwin isn’t used to doing a lot of action movies, so he was certain when he got the gun, I’m sure, ‘There’s no bullet here.’”
“Why the hell would he accept? Are you crazy?” Eric questioned.
“The responsibility,” he continues, does not fall on the executive producers or the actors.
“The real responsible people on set are the assistant director and maybe a producer…[and] a gunsmith.”
Eric goes on to say that Alec Baldwin is a good, responsible man who probably even has a “disdain” for guns.
“I hope the jury sees this and understands this, and the innocent.”
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Eric confirmed in the video that he doesn’t know Alec personally, but he knows him “peripherally”.
Alec, who has appeared in films like Beetlejuice, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Departed, has a unique bond with Eric, however.
The pair are soap opera stars, with Alec getting his big break when appearing in the sixth and seventh seasons of Knots Landing, an ABC soap opera and spin-off of the popular series Dallas.
Alec’s trial began on Wednesday, July 10, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as he faces manslaughter charges.
In 2021, Alec fired a revolver, initially used as a prop, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The shooting also injured Rust director Joel Souza.
In January 2023, Alec was charged with two counts of manslaughter, but both charges were dropped in April 2023.
In January 2024, he was again indicted for manslaughter.
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Alec maintained his innocence, arguing that he thought he was using a stage gun with fake bullets.
Gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed mistakenly loaded a live bullet in the gun that day.
She was convicted of manslaughter in March 2024 and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
During opening statements in the trial, the prosecution argued that the longtime actor violated “fundamental rules of firearms safety” as Alec looked on with his arms crossed.
On Friday, July 12, the judge at Alec’s trial sent the jury home early, with testimony scheduled to continue on Monday.
Alec’s wife, Hilaria Baldwin, has been by the actor’s side every day of his trial so far, which is scheduled to last until July 19.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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