Alec Baldwin smiled as he arrived at a court in New Mexico with his wife and toddler in tow before a jury was selected in his criminal trial over the shooting of a cinematographer.
Baldwin, 66, is charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
He was rehearsing on the set of the western movie Rust near Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun he was holding went off, fatally wounding 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins.
• Will he go to prison? The trial explained
Baldwin, who denies the allegations, appeared in good spirits as he pulled up to the court in a black SUV on Tuesday morning. He was greeted by a waiting media scrum of photographers and reporters.
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He was joined by his wife Hilaria, 40, and a toddler believed to be Ilaria Catalina Irena, a one-year-old and the youngest of the couple’s seven children together.
While walking into the building, the smiling actor ignored shouted questions from the press.
“Are you going to be a free man in two weeks, Mr Baldwin?” one reporter asked.
Once inside Baldwin walked through security and was seen exchanging greetings with court staff. Stephen Baldwin, the defendant’s brother who is also an actor, joined him in the courtroom.
Jury selection in the case got off to a slow start owing to technical issues at the Santa Fe County courthouse, where 70 potential jurors gathered.
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Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer asked the pool if they were familiar with the case, which has been the subject of intense media interest. Only two potential jurors said they were unfamiliar with the shooting.
Others were asked questions including if they had any feelings about Baldwin, what their attitudes to firearms were and if they had already formed an opinion on the case.
Alex Spiro, one of Baldwin’s lawyers, admitted there was an emotional pull in the case given Hutchins was a beloved wife and mother who lost her life. Spiro asked if anyone had doubts about their ability to be impartial, but no potential juror raised their hand.
After a process lasting several hours, a jury of 16 people — 11 women and five men — were seated. Four of the jurors are alternates. The case will resume with opening statements on Wednesday morning. The trial is expected to last ten days.
Baldwin has protested his innocence and argues it was the responsibility of others to make sure the gun was safe. Prosecutors have accused him of neglecting safety protocols on set.
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Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer who was responsible for weapons safety on Rust, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. She is appealing against the conviction.
All eyes in Hollywood will be on the Baldwin trial. He insists he did not pull the trigger, only the hammer, but that the gun went off anyway. Prosecutors say an FBI analysis of the weapon shows Baldwin must have pulled the trigger.
Filming on Rust, in which Baldwin plays a grizzled outlaw, was completed last year in Montana. A release date has not yet been announced.
