On-set accidents during film shootings are nothing new in Hollywood. But in an exceptionally tragic incident, a fatal firing during the shooting of Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza injured. Hutchins couldn’t make it and died the next day.
The incident left a big wound in the hearts of the people present during to the accident, especially Joel Souza. Joel wished it was him instead of Hutchins who died. During a recent interview, the actor opened up about the incident and the impact it left on him.
Joel Souza Was Really Disturbed After the Halyna Hutchins Shooting Incident
During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Joel Souza was asked whether he was happy that he survived the gunshot incident. “Not really,” Souza replied. He clarified that he was deeply shaken after the incident and even had nightmares. He replied, “I remember specifically going to sleep that night and hoping I didn’t wake up the next morning.”
Joel continued, “I hoped I would just bleed out overnight because I didn’t want to be around anymore. It was a very difficult moment. I remember just thinking, Maybe I’ll just sort of bleed to death — that would suit me just fine.”
Due to the nightmares, he had to get therapy. He even cycled to six different therapists and yet neither of them were able to help him to ease into comfort after the incident.
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Joel Souza Provided Monetory Support To Halyna Hutchins’ Family
Joel Souza also made sure that he did his part to help the family of the victim. He aided Halyna Hutchins’ family — including her husband Matt, and their child — by providing them some monetary support in honor of her sacrifice during the shooting of the film.
He continued, “At a certain point it was conveyed to me that there was going to be some form of settlement and that Matt Hutchins was going to be involved as a producer. This is what he wanted. I knew that the movie being finished would financially benefit Halyna’s family, which is very important to me.” Joel also added that her last work matters.
Moreover, Souza also added that he doesn’t want to blame anyone individually for whatever happened on the set, amidst the legal process — including the manslaughter case against Baldwin which was dismissed in July.
Souza admitted, “He wouldn’t ever allege that anything was intentional,” but “when there are matters of things like ammunition and guns and safety, you don’t f— around there”. However, Souza and Alec Baldwin aren’t as well connected now as they used to be.
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