LOS ANGELES — “Dopesick” star Michael Keaton’s big win Sunday at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards was followed by applause, and then crickets, after the performer was nowhere to be found.
Consequently, presenter Salma Hayek was left hanging when Keaton failed to immediately accept the award for actor in a limited series. Scattered laughter ensued as the “House of Gucci” actor’s eyes frantically searched the crowd to no avail.
“Are you kidding me?” Hayek joked, still gripping Keaton’s trophy. “I have stage fright. Come on, Michael! Come on, Michael!”
Nearly 30 seconds passed before Keaton finally sprinted through the audience, dramatically somersaulted onto the stage Batman-style, relieved Hayek of the little green statue and blamed his tardiness on an ill-timed bathroom break.
“Thank you very much!” he said. “Sorry, quick trip to the men’s room. It’s packed, by the way.”
On a more serious note, Keaton noted how “fortunate” and “blessed” he is to act for a living. The veteran actor received the award for his portrayal of Samuel Finnix, a doctor struggling with addiction to painkillers, in Hulu’s “Dopesick.” He was nominated alongside Murray Bartlett (“The White Lotus”), Oscar Isaac (“Scenes From a Marriage”), Ewan McGregor (“Halston”) and Evan Peters (“Mare of Easttown”).
“There’s massive inequity in the world,” Keaton continued. “In ‘Dopesick,’ when you talk about addiction, the way to heal the problem is to accept that you have a problem. ...
“There’s massive inequity in the world. There just is. There’s fair and there’s unfair. There’s not a lot of room in between. I can feel right now the rolling thunder of eye-rolling coming across — people saying to me things like, ‘Shut up and dribble,’ or, ‘Shut up and act.’ The acting, I’ll quit. The shutting up, not so much.”
Toward the end of his speech, Keaton became emotional while dedicating his victory to his sister and his nephew, who died in 2016 after accidentally overdosing on heroin and fentanyl, according to E! News.
“Given the subject matter, this is for my nephew, Michael, and my sister, Pam,” Keaton said through tears, taking long pauses to collect himself. “I lost my nephew, Michael, to drugs, and it hurts. This is for my sister, Pam. Thanks.”
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