Urban Ag said:
That's great and I'd agree but as great as a guy Keanu seems to be how does anyone know he would know the difference between live ammo, inert, and charged blanks? How does anyone know he has a clue what he's even looking at? I do. But I'd have no expectation that an actor would and why would why?
Same reason my cardiologist has to walk me thru my CT scan
Not my subject matter
It comes down to professionalism.
Keanu has a reputation for being highly professional. He's not just good at acting and playing his part, but he takes all the other aspects of being on set seriously. That includes attending all of the safety meetings and maintaining high standards and expectations.
Baldwin is somewhat the opposite. He has a reputation of being an arrogant jerk and often unprofessional. If reported standards on the Rust set were any indication, that's probably accurate. Not saying this was the case, but if either of the two were to act flippantly towards a firearm and not take safety instruction and protocols seriously, it would definitely be Baldwin.
As for knowing what they're doing and looking at, that's the point of all of the safety briefings and instruction before and during filming. Production companies do, or are supposed to do, their due diligence in making sure everyone on set, including actors, knows weapons safety protocols and that actors know what they're doing with weapons they're handed. There simply too much risk involved to not brief them on safe operation of the weapon, the difference between rounds, the danger of blanks, etc. What they can't do is make everyone listen and pay attention. Professionals do, hacks don't.
TLDR Keanu is more of a professional than Baldwin, and actors aren't handed potentially deadly weapons without being instructed on safety and their operation.
