Alec Baldwin adamantly denied any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western filming in New Mexico, stating that a live round had been accidently inserted in the pistol that went off in his grip as he was practicing a scene.

Baldwin told Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos that he and the cinematographer “had something profound in common, and that is we both assumed the gun was empty,” in his first interview since the revolver he was carrying discharged and killed Ms Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in October.

“I feel someone is responsible for what happened and I can’t say who that is. But I know it’s not me,” Baldwin told ABC television’s host.

“I mean, I honest to God, if I felt that I was responsible, I might have killed myself, and I don’t say that lightly,” he said in the interview broadcast Thursday.

Baldwin believes it is critical for investigators to figure out who put the bullet in the gun he shot, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, while the gun was meant to be empty.

“There’s only one question to be resolved, and that’s where did the live round come from?” Baldwin remarked.

Authorities in New Mexico are still investigating the incident, including how live ammo ended up on the set. There have been no criminal charges brought.

“I’ve been told by people in the know… that it is highly unlikely I would be charged with anything criminally,” Baldwin stated.

Mr. Baldwin stated, “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them — never.”

Baldwin, who grew emotional numerous times throughout the conversation, said he chose to speak out because the criminal and civil investigations into the New Mexico massacre would take a long time. “I really feel like I can’t wait for that process to end,” he remarked.

The actor stated that he “would go to any length to undo what happened” and that he did not want to come across as a victim, instead of Ms Hutchins and the film’s director Joel Souza, who were hurt in the event.

They were going through a “marking rehearsal,” according to the actor, which entailed him changing the gun’s position multiple times. Baldwin claimed he cocked the gun by pulling back the hammer, but that he never squeezed the trigger.

“In this scene, I am going to cock the gun. I said, ‘Do you want to see that?’ And she said yes. So I take the gun and I start to cock the gun. I’m not going to pull the trigger,” he said.

“I said, ‘Did you see that?’ She said, ‘Well just cheat it down and tilt it down a little bit like that’. And I cocked the gun and go, ‘Can you see that? Can you see that? And I let go of the hammer of the gun and the gun goes off.”

“Everyone is horrified. They’re shocked. It’s loud. They don’t have their earplugs in… the gun was supposed to be empty. I was told I was handed an empty gun.”

When Stephanopoulos told Baldwin that many say you should never point a gun directly at someone on a set, he responded, “unless the person is the cinematographer who was directing me where to point the gun for her camera angle.”

Baldwin claimed he initially thought Hutchins had fainted and it wasn’t until hours later that he was told she had died. He stated that he “couldn’t imagine” ever doing another film using weapons.

“The idea that somebody put a live bullet in the gun was not even in reality.”

When describing Hutchins, he had one of numerous teary moments, stating she was “somebody who was loved by everybody and admired by everybody who worked with her.”

Baldwin, who was also a producer on the picture, said he had not heard “one word” about safety problems on production, despite the fact that several crew members who left before to the tragedy have claimed it was due to a lack of attention to safety.

The incident has sent shockwaves throughout Hollywood, prompting calls for weapons to be banned from set forever.