'Rust' director Joel Souza has admitted the accidental fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins "ruined" him

The 66-year-old Hollywood star maintained he didn't pull the trigger of the gun or know why it contained live ammunition.

He pleaded not guilty, and the case was later dropped after judge Mary Marlowe Sommer decided it should be dumped after she heard claims from his legal team prosecutors had allegedly buried evidence

In his first interview about the accident, Souza told Vanity Fair: "When I tell someone it ruined me, I don't mean in the sense that people might generally think.

"I don't mean that it put my career in ruins. I mean, internally, the person I was just went away. That stopped."

He says armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is now "living with the consequences of that mistake" after she loaded the prop gun with a live bullet.

He said: "I don't know what that even is anymore, I'll be very honest with you about that. No one feels good about someone going to jail.

"I think it would be disingenuous and lunacy to say people didn't screw up things. I don't think anyone would ever allege that anything was intentional.

"The live bullet got put in the gun. It was a horrible mistake to make, and [Gutierrez-Reed is] living with the consequences of that mistake. Everything that happened was born out of that sin, out of that moment. That single act is what put the rest of this into motion."

Asked whether Baldwin should have checked the gun first, he said: "Does it matter if I think it's fair or not? There is an argument that says, if he checks it and starts fiddling around with it, he is creating a safety issue. And then there is another thing that says, it is common sense, Jesus Christ. Be careful with this goddamn thing.

"So I don't know anymore, to be honest with you. The charges got filed. That's what they decided to do. Was he overcharged? I don't know."

Souza felt obliged to finish the film to honour Hutchins and support her family.

He added: "I knew that the movie being finished would financially benefit Halyna's family, which is very important to me.

"And I know this can sound trite for people who aren't creative, but her last work matters. People seeing her last work matters. That was the tipping point for me in the decision."

The scene in which the gun was fired has been cut from the film.

He insisted: "I'm not going back to that.

"I don't want anyone who ever does see this to be waiting for that. No one ever pushed to keep anything like that."