Michael Keaton dedicated his Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards win to his late nephew.
Michael Keaton dedicated his win to his late nephew
The 70-year-old actor fought back tears as he picked up the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series honour for his role in 'Dopesick' as doctor Samuel Finnix, and paid tribute to his beloved family member, who passed away following an overdose in 2016.
He said: " I’ve sent my pre-emptive thanks for everyone involved in this, but mostly… given the subject matter, this is for my nephew Michael and my sister, Pam.
“I lost my nephew Michael to drugs and it hurts."
Earlier in his speech, Michael expressed his gratitude for the platform he has and how shows such as 'Dopesick' can instigate change.
He told the audience at Santa Monica's Barker Hangar: "There’s an argument to be made that a night like tonight is self-serving, narcissistic, it’s legitimate argument, that said, I will tell you and I speak for myself, I am so fortunate. We could spend a week here talking about how fortunate I am and I know you’d love that – who doesn’t want to listen to Mike ramble on for a few hours?
“I have a job where I can be part of a production like ‘Dopesick’ that actually has brought conversation, actual change. Who gets to have that job? How fortunate am I that good can come of something I do just because I wanted to become an actor.
"There’s mass of inequity in the world.
“In ‘Dopesick’, when you talk about addiction, the way to heal the problem is to accept you have a problem. Not our world, the entire world – economically, racially, socially, financially, there’s massive inequity in the world.
“There’s fair and unfair and not a lot of room in between.
“I can feel right now the rolling thunder of eye roll coming across, people saying things like, ‘Shut up and act’. The acting I’ll quit, the shutting up not so much.
“I am blessed to be able to do something that might improve someone’s life, I’m the most fortunate person."
And Michael - who won the award ahead of Murray Bartlett ('The White Lotus'), Oscar Issac ('Scenes from a Marriage'), Ewan McGregor ('Halston') and Evan Peters ('Mare of Easttown') - also touched on the crisis in Ukraine as he paid tribute to the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
He said: "We have a fellow actor in Zelenskyy, who deserves some credit for fighting the fight."
The Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series award went to Kate Winslet for her role as Mare Sheehan in HBO's 'Mare of Easttown' but she was not in attendance at the ceremony to accept her award, despite appearing earlier in the evening for a pre-recorded segment honouring Lifetime Achievement winner Dame Helen Mirren.
She took the award ahead of Jennifer Coolidge ('The White Lotus'), Cynthia Erivo ('Genius: Aretha'), Margaret Qualley ('Maid'), and 'Mare of Easttown' co-star Jean Smart.
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