Alec Baldwin says wife was 'traumatized' by 'Rust' shooting, reveals he won't watch final film

"Rust" recently held its world premiere more than three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on set, but star Alec Baldwin isn't planning to watch it.

The actor, 66, told Variety in an interview published Monday that he has seen a rough cut of "Rust" but not the final version. When asked if he wanted to watch the completed film, he said, "Right now, no," as the shooting was the "most difficult thing I've ever dealt with in my life."

He added he wants "all things 'Rust' to just leave my windshield," and he and his wife Hilaria are "trying to get the wind in our sails, to get away from this stuff."

Baldwin was holding a gun on the set of "Rust" in 2021 when it accidentally went off, killing Hutchins. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but the case was dismissed in July over allegations that prosecutors suppressed evidence.

Speaking to Variety, Baldwin said the situation has been hard on his wife.

Alec Baldwin criticized by mom of 'Rust' shooting victim over movie premiere

"My wife has been very, very traumatized from this," he told the outlet. "There has been a lot of pain. When you are married to somebody and everything was going fairly well and we had seven kids … and the floor falls out. It’s very frightening and very disturbing. And we are trying to get the wind in our sails, to get away from this stuff. Because the film doesn’t stand by itself. It’s always going to be overshadowed by this."

The "30 Rock" star added that the last two years have "just hammered me, just drained me," and he revealed doctors told him not to travel to Montana to complete the movie after Hutchins' death because he was "very sick afterwards for a while, physically drained and ill."

Baldwin did ultimately return to the set so the film could be finished.

Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' premieres at film festival 3 years after cinematographer's death

"Rust" debuted last week at a film festival in Poland, though Baldwin was not in attendance. Hutchins' mother, Olga Solovey, criticized the premiere, saying in a statement, "Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologize to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death. Instead, he seeks to unjustly profit from his killing of my daughter."

Without naming Solovey, Baldwin told Variety it is "absolutely wrong" to say he is profiting from the movie because he waived his fee and "gave everything to" Hutchins' husband.

Alec Baldwin says Americans are 'very uninformed about reality'

The actor spoke to Variety from the Torino Film Festival, where he is receiving a lifetime achievement award.

In a press conference, the "Rust" shooting was never mentioned, but Baldwin touched on the 2024 presidential election and argued movies are more important now than ever as a way of informing viewers about what's happening around the world.

"There is a gap, if you will, in information for Americans," he said. "Americans are very uninformed about reality, what's really going on with climate change, Ukraine, you name it, all the biggest topics in the world. Americans have an appetite for a little bit of information. That vacuum is filled by the film industry."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alec Baldwin talks 'Rust' shooting fallout, says wife is 'traumatized'