Dolph Lundgren says Alec Baldwin's Rust shooting reminds him of Brandon Lee's death on The Crow

Dolph Lundgren was reminded of his friend and former costar Brandon Lee’s shocking death on the set of The Crow following the deadly accidental shooting on the set of Rust last month.

The 64-year-old action film legend called the latest tragedy ‘crazy’ while speaking with Fox News on Wednesday.

He opined that ‘there should never be any live ammo around a movie set’ and marveled that ‘it’s been 35 years’ since a similar tragedy befell the son of Bruce Lee.

Bad memories: Dolph Lundgren, 64, said the Rust set shooting in October was 'crazy' and was reminded of the untimely death of his friend and former costar Brandon Lee on the set of The Crow while speaking with Fox News on Wednesday; seen in 2018

Bad memories: Dolph Lundgren, 64, said the Rust set shooting in October was ‘crazy’ and was reminded of the untimely death of his friend and former costar Brandon Lee on the set of The Crow while speaking with Fox News on Wednesday; seen in 2018

The Rust shooting was so surprising to Lundgren because most of the people responsible for firearms on film and television sets are utter professionals. 

‘It’s a serious business having real firearms on a film set,’ he said. ‘Usually an armorer, they’re very serious people and they’re very committed and the guns are checked.’

‘Any other time I remember it happened was with Brandon Lee,’ he added.

Lee was killed on March 31, 1993, late in the production of the dark superhero film The Crow.

Past tragedy: 'Any other time I remember it happened was with Brandon Lee,' Lundgren said, remember the actor who was killed by an improperly loaded firearm on The Crow set in 1993; still from The Crow

Past tragedy: ‘Any other time I remember it happened was with Brandon Lee,’ Lundgren said, remember the actor who was killed by an improperly loaded firearm on The Crow set in 1993; still from The Crow

He had finished nearly all of his scenes before filming in which actor Michael Massee would shoot and kill his character, who would be reincarnated later in the film.

But the real handgun used in the scene had a poorly made dummy round that had become lodged in the gun barrel after it was fired in a previous scene.

When Massee subsequently fired a blank round, the explosive force was enough to shoot out the dummy round, which struck Lee in the abdomen.

The actor, who was unconscious after the shooting, was rushed to a hospital where he died later in the day after several hours in surgery. 

Even before the shooting on the Rust set, Lundgren’s mind returned to his late costar, who acted opposite him in the 1991 film Showdown In Little Tokyo.

In August, prior to the shooting, he posted an old photo of Lee taken around the time of Showdown In Little Tokyo’s release. 

Memories: Lee was on Lundgren's mind in August, before the Rust shooting. He posted a throwback of the late star with the poster to their film Showdown In Little Tokyo

Memories: Lee was on Lundgren’s mind in August, before the Rust shooting. He posted a throwback of the late star with the poster to their film Showdown In Little Tokyo

‘Came across this photo of the late Brandon Lee in front of the Warners billboard of Showdown in Little Tokyo almost 30 years ago. Brandon was a great guy and a great actor. He is very much missed,’ Lundgren captioned the post.

Their film ultimately didn’t fare well with audiences or critics, though its estimation has risen in recent years. 

The Expendables star though it was ‘crazy’ that there was even live ammo on the Rust set to allow for such a tragedy to occur.

‘I don’t know how that happened. There should never be any live ammo around a movie set,’ he said.

Safety first: Lundgren said there 'should never be any live ammo around a movie set,' and shared that his new film Castle Falls used only CGI bullets and muzzle flares

Safety first: Lundgren said there ‘should never be any live ammo around a movie set,’ and shared that his new film Castle Falls used only CGI bullets and muzzle flares

Lundgren added that he ‘used to do a couple dry fires into the ground’ before firing guns on set, to ensure he wasn’t firing a loaded weapon at his costars.

‘There is a protocol that is pretty strict and I’m sure safety on sets is going to be even more [strict] now,’ he added.

The actor got a chance to make some safety changes himself with his upcoming film Castle Falls, which he starred in and directed.

‘You can do CGI flashes and you can also animate the shells coming out of the weapon,’ he explained. ‘All the multi flashes and all the shells kicked out of the guns, that’s done on a computer.

‘But some movies, I think the one [Alec] Baldwin was in was a period piece so they used revolvers or something like that. That’s probably why they opted for using blanks,’ he speculated.

Hard times: Lundgren famously had his own safety scare on Rocky IV when a punch to Sylvester Stallone's chest nearly killed him and put in the hospital

Hard times: Lundgren famously had his own safety scare on Rocky IV when a punch to Sylvester Stallone’s chest nearly killed him and put in the hospital

Lundgren famously had a safety scare while filming Rocky IV with star and director Sylvester Stallone.

In the 1985, Stallone’s character Rocky goes down after a powerful punch to the chest from Ivan Drago (Lundgren).

But Stallone revealed prior to the release of a new cut of the film that the blow was deadly serious.

‘He pulverized me and I did not feel it at that moment but later that night my heart started to swell,’ he explained.

Lundgren had ‘bruised the perio cardio sac, which is when the heart hits the chest — like in a car accident when your chest hits the steering wheel.’

Stallone said that his blood pressure climbed to ‘260’ and ‘they thought I was going to be talking to angels.’

On October 21, Rust star and producer Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun he believed to be unloaded during a rehearsal, which hit cinematographer Halyna Hutchins; seen October 7

On October 21, Rust star and producer Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun he believed to be unloaded during a rehearsal, which hit cinematographer Halyna Hutchins; seen October 7

On October 21, while filming the low-budget Western Rust in New Mexico, star and producer Alec Baldwin was given a revolver by the assistant director Dave Halls as he rehearsed a scene with the director Souza and cinematographer Hutchins nearby.

But the gun had somehow been loaded with a live round, and when he fired both Souza and Hutchins were struck.

Hutchins was killed, but Souza was taken to a hospital and later released. 

‘There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,’ Baldwin later tweeted.

‘I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.’

He reportedly had an emotional meeting with Hutchins’ husband following the shooting.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating the shooting, though on arrests have been made yet.

Untimely loss: Hutchins, seen here in 2017, was killed from the shot, and director Joel Souza was also injured, though he was later released from the hospital

Untimely loss: Hutchins, seen here in 2017, was killed from the shot, and director Joel Souza was also injured, though he was later released from the hospital

source: dailymail.co.uk