While accepting a SAG award for his performance in Hulu's "Dopesick," actor Michael Keaton touched on a number of topics, personal and in the news, during one of the night's most moving and emotional acceptance speeches.
Keaton recognized the personal nature of working on a project like "Dopesick," as he has had family members who have struggled with addiction.
“There is a massive inequity in the world,” he said. Keaton went on to say, “part of a production like Dopesick [is] that can spawn thought, conversation, actual change.”
He seemed to then reference a familiar line heard, that actors shouldn't involve themselves in topics like politics. “The acting, I’ll quit. The shutting-up, not so much,” Keaton said to applause from the audience.
The night focused on actors recognizing fellow actors, especially those who are SAG-AFTRA members.
He touched on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's continued fight for that country. President Zelenskyy entered politics from a career as an actor, known around Ukraine from a popular TV show there called "Servant of the People, where he played a high-school teacher who became president of Ukraine.
"I swear to God, I'm so grateful for things like this, this is nice. I would tell you, we have a fellow actor in Zelenskyy, who deserves some credit tonight for fighting the fight," Keaton said.
The actor then became emotional as he dedicated the award to his nephew Michael, and sister. "I lost Michael to drugs, and it hurts,” Keaton said.
Watch the full speech here:
