Alec Baldwin appears in first Rust trailer released since fatal on-set shooting

The ‘30 Rock’ star plays aging outlaw Harland Rust in the western

The trailer for Rust has been released, giving audiences a first glimpse at Alec Baldwin in the role of aging outlaw Harland Rust.

Production of the film was beset by tragedy when cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot and killed on set on October 21, 2021.

Baldwin stood trial for involuntary manslaughter, but last July, the case was dismissed with prejudice based on the misconduct of police and prosecutors over the withholding of evidence from the defense. The prosecution will not be able to file charges against Baldwin again in Hutchins’s death.

Hutchins’s family said they were keen for the film to be completed in her memory. It will be released on May 2.

Rust is set in Wyoming in the 1880s and follows Harland Rust as he comes out of hiding to save his 13-year-old grandson (Patrick Scott McDermott) after the boy is sentenced to hang for accidentally killing a rancher.

As the pair attempt to make it to Mexico, they’re pursued by US Marshal Wood Helm (Josh Hopkins) and a bounty hunter known as “Preacher” (Travis Fimmel).

Alec Baldwin in 'Rust' (YouTube)

The film also stars Frances Fisher and Jake Busey.

Last month, Baldwin and his wife Hilaria opened up about the post-traumatic stress the actor suffered as a result of the accidental shooting in the first episode of their new reality show The Baldwins.

In the season premiere of the TLC show, Baldwin said the situation is “surreal,” while his wife described his PTSD and survivor's guilt.

“Everyone who is close to Alec has seen his mental health decline,” she says. “He was diagnosed with PTSD and he says, in his darkest moments, ‘If an accident had to have happened on this day, why am I still here? Why couldn’t it be me?’”

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Speaking directly to her husband, she says: “You wake up in the morning and you’re like, ‘Oh God, why did I have to wake up?’ You’re so dark and it’s so painful.”

The 30 Rock actor responded: “My good friend said to me the other day, he said, ‘How are you doing?’ and I said, ‘I’m happier when I’m asleep than when I’m awake.’”

He also told Hilaria: “I don’t know where I'd be if I didn’t have you and these kids going through this. I never would’ve made it with this. Sometimes I ask, ‘Why did we have seven kids?’ To help carry me and you through this situation.”