Michael Keaton continued his winning streak, winning the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series for his role in Hulu’s “Dopesick.” Keaton portrayed Dr. Samuel Finnix in the eight-part drama about the rise and fall of the opioid crisis, also taking a closer look at Purdue Pharma, the company that promoted OxyContin.
The project, Keaton’s first TV show, was personal for the actor, whose nephew died of a drug overdose.
“My parents weren’t exactly patrons of the arts,” he said in his acceptance speech. “We weren’t patrons of anything, frankly. But I want to thank them. I just want to thank all those people in my family for never making me feel stupid, because I kept doing it myself many times. It’s the thing about feeling dumb and making a fool of yourself and making mistakes, there’s tremendous power and merit in that. I’m glad I was laughed at over and over and over again.
Keaton also called out his “skeptics” over the years, saying, “Over the years we’ve all been through tough times. There were doubts. I had doubts. You know what? We are cool. But I also had these people through all those hard times who were the true believers.
The actor has previously spoken with Variety to take on the role and tell the heartbreaking story of “Dopesick.”
“It’s so sad, but remember years ago when people finally started saying, ‘Well, we’re all affected by cancer because it affects everyone in some way. of another.’ At first it sounds like an exaggerated statement. Then you realize, wait a minute, it’s true. Well, that’s how it is now with the opioid crisis,” he said. “And fentanyl is a whole other thing. I mean, it’s the horrible stepson or something.
Keaton also noted that he had to put his emotions behind him when he took on the tough part.
“Overall – and this is a cynical and sad comment – I’m almost not offended by anything. You can spend your whole life being angry, but it will wear you down to the point of inefficiency in as a citizen,” he said. “That’s not to say I’m not really pissed off at times yet. But it really doesn’t get you anywhere.
Keaton beat out Colin Firth for HBO Max’s “The Staircase,” Andrew Garfield for FX’s “Under the Banner of Heaven,” Oscar Isaac for HBO’s “Scenes From a Marriage,” and Himesh Patel for HBO Max’s “Station Eleven.”