It's not the actor's fault. And in many cases where a weapon is carefully prepared for filming I can see why they would be forbidden from checking it.
If he was handed the weapon and told it was 'cold' his experience would be not to examine the weapon. It's like an airborne soldier: a rigger packs the chute, and you hope he's done it right.
That may have been Baldwin's experience (I don't know for sure, and I don't think you do, either). But I don't think one can make a general statement about ALL actors being that cavalier about handling guns on sets. And this wasn't Baldwin's first movie with guns, either.
The industry does have a set of procedures for handling weapons on a set, and I'd expect all actors who handle weapons to have been given training on that before going to the set for filming, during the period when they are learning lines, fitting for costumes, learning the choreography for fight scenes, making script edits, etc.
I don't see much difference between this and a case where an actor is given what is supposed to be a knife with a retracting blade and is instead given a real one and stabs another actor in rehearsal.
Really? You don't think an actor can tell the difference between a fake retracting blade and a real one? A knife is not a complicated instrument. Is that like an actor portraying a doctor expecting a fake syringe with a retracting needle, only to be given a real one and injecting someone with air? It's a ridiculous notion. A knife is not a gun. A knife won't kill someone 10 feet away. A knife doesn't have concealed explosives in it.
in many cases where a weapon is carefully prepared for filming I can see why they would be forbidden from checking it.
Tell me more. I'd like to hear more about what actors are "forbidden" to do. Especially the actor who is the producer. Did he forbid himself?
It's like an airborne soldier: a rigger packs the chute, and you hope he's done it right.
In that case, it's only the jumper who is at risk. No cinematographers were harmed in the jump.
-PJ