Whats really interesting about you saying that is, man, do I miss it sounds egotistical being funny. He told me a while back, he said, You need to write. But I thought, Well, theyre going to see Cher so I dont have to do a lot of time. Michael Keaton Illness: What Disease Does Michael Keaton Have? It was equally hard to watch its star, Michael Keaton, previously break down while accepting a Screen Actors Guild award, dedicating the trophy to his sister, Pam, and her son, Michael Douglas Scichilone who died in 2016 in Pennsylvania, a victim of the same epidemic chronicled in Mr Keatons show. If you think someone is overdosing, call 911 right away. He has zigzagged In Dopesick, Keaton plays Samuel Finnix, an old-school doctor from a small mining town in Virginia who begins prescribing his patients OxyContin to relieve Protesters in 2019 outside a courthouse in Boston, Mass., where a judge heard arguments in a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma. environmentally conscientious construction company. My mom thought she was alone in struggling with that stuff. You go, "Okay. I think her thinking was, Lets go hipper, lets go young, because Im Cher and Im going to do my rock tunes. The part was then given to actor Matthew Fox. With fentanyl, there is only a short window of time to intervene and save a persons life during an overdose. Yes. I always felt like I disappointed Cher. Even this interview: Im not unnecessarily flattering you, but when I get talking about things I forget how much I like things like this conversation. I was going to ask if you could use one to describe where you are in your career now. Explain what fentanyl is and that it can be found in pills bought online or from friends. Gotham City weeps today. All rights reserved. Im not trying to save any kind of reputation. We didnt do this to ourselves, said Hampton, who was injured while hiking in 2003 and prescribed opioids. [71], In the 1980s, Keaton bought a ranch near Big Timber, Montana, where he spends much of his time. Jimmy Kimmel Roasts Fragile Snowflake Donald Trump for Allegedly Trying to Censor Him, 2023s Super Bowl Movie Trailers Were Obsessed With the Past. I get embarrassed using the word career. Once you start talking like that you have a self-consciousness about it, and it takes away from: Whats the thing you really are supposed to do? So somebody said, You gotta go see this guy me. [63][64] However, on April 19, 2021, Keaton's talent agency, ICM Partners, officially confirmed his involvement with the film when production had officially begun. 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Having recognizable faces in those roles can be transformative in shaping more positive attitudes.. The doctor in Dopesick or Ken Feinberg in Worth are both sort of authority figures, which can be said of a lot of the characters youve played since Birdman. But earlier in your career sorry for using that word pretty much from Night Shift to The Paper you tended to play anti-authority types. He was such a sports guy.. "Dopesick" star Michael Keaton knows the heartbreak of addiction all too well. OK, so to get back on track: You had a period where you would do performances and they wouldnt ring true? Im just trying to get a handle. Foul off a few. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity from two conversations. But could you stop?. The DC Extended Universe has [76] Despite his political outspokenness during the 2020 election, Keaton later stated that it's better for celebrities not to speak about politics. I was doing some things, I was picking up a little bit of work. A buddy of mine who was a rod builder, Ive never told him that his rod broke. You know, Im just so lazy. He made the family holiday movie Jack Frost and the thriller Desperate Measures. I dont know. Thats good. [65][66], He was set to reprise the character in Batgirl starring Leslie Grace, set for a release on HBO Max,[67] taking some inspiration from the acclaimed DC Animated Universe animated series, Batman Beyond, with Keaton playing the elder Bruce Wayne as the title character's mentor and remote coordinator in the Batcave. Seriously? he asked. Theyre still eating, all you hear is silverware and people mumbling things like, Hey, I didnt order Thousand Island. Youre up there and they go: Who is this kid? 1988 was the seminal year in Keaton's career where he landed two major unconventional roles, forever changing his image to audiences. Youre the boss. Michael Keaton is in completely good health. [5] He was raised between McKees Rocks,[6] Coraopolis and Robinson Township, Pennsylvania. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in Mr. Yeah. That quality is on display in various forms in his recent work as a contract killer in the thriller The Protg, released in August; as Kenneth Feinberg, the real-life lawyer in charge of dispensing the 9/11 victims compensation fund in Worth, which premieres on Netflix Sept. 3; and as a small-town doctor whose eyes gradually open to the opioid crisis in the Hulu limited series Dopesick, slated for release on Oct. 13. I'll wait." [30], Keaton's career was given another major boost when he was again cast by Tim Burton, this time as the title comic book superhero of the 1989 film Batman. Unlike that HBO show, Hulus new eight-part series Dopesick doesnt offer laughs at the outlandish behavior of its titans of industry. We do not have time. Its [expletive]. [7][8] His father, George A. Douglas (19051977), worked as a civil engineer and surveyor, and his mother, Leona Elizabeth (ne Loftus; 19092002), was a homemaker, and came from McKees Rocks. That mind-set wont help us make changes to prevent reoccurrences, he continued. Oh, sorry. Im really not bragging: What little act I had, I knew that some parts of it worked. The show ran for six seasons, with the Shephard role continuing throughout. Now, theres probably some kind of stupid pride that would make me say, man, the guy in The Paper is certainly not like the guy in Night Shift, and Beetlejuice wasnt like anything else. Oh, people love architecture bits. I have a Batman question: When I rewatched Batman and Batman Returns it seemed to me as if there was a progression from one film to the next in how you played Bruce Wayne. The best way to prevent fentanyl use is to educate your loved ones, including teens, about it. He was funny; he had a very quiet sense of humour he used to do things like tease my little sister, she says of the third and youngest sibling, Emily. Yeah, and this was in old Vegas. Shortly after her passing, Michael Keaton admitted that two of his siblings, who also lost ex-spouses, told him that dealing with McWilliams death would be harder than he thought. His feelings were odd, the actor explained, but not necessarily in a bad way, mainly because they had remained friends. At the fore is Richard Sackler (Michael Stuhlbarg), who must navigate family politics and government regulations in his drive to create a blockbuster drug and attain the companys presidency. I miss that stuff with Letterman and those guys. How fortunate am I that good can come from something that I do just because I wanted to become an actor?, Theres massive inequity in the world. Addiction comes in all shapes and sizes. I could have turned somebody around. People have come up to me about My Life and certain things that Ive done and commented on what it meant to them. Woody Allen cast Keaton as the lead in The Purple Rose of Cairo the following year, but after filming began Allen felt Keaton was "too modern" and reshot his scenes with Jeff Daniels in the final film, further delaying his transition to drama in the public eye. Im blessed-slash-cursed with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. People forget about you, and Im off doing other things. Did you ever read Tarantula? Those usually kill. You got a good fishing story? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Im here. I dont even know if thats a good book, but I remember when I read it, I was going, Wow, Dylans really deep. Richard Sackler is played by a brooding, nervy Michael Stuhlbarg, who leans into his roles villainy. Keaton, who is also an executive producer, was motivated to participate in the series partly because a nephew of his died from fentanyl and heroin use. agent who in the 1990s begins to notice a troubling pattern of addiction to prescription opioids in rural areas.. There just is. He starred in The Paper and Multiplicity, and twice in the same role, that of Elmore Leonard character Agent Ray Nicolette, in the films Jackie Brown and Out of Sight. My career; career-wise. It sounds pretentious just hearing myself say it now. Im developing this thing with Jay Roach and Owen Burke and Adam McKay. To submit a letter to the editor for publication, write to, Fox Searchlight Pictures, via Everett Collection. The influence of Michael Keatons starring role in director Tim Burtons 1989 big screen bonanza, Batman, remains powerful. Its not like a weird Hollywood family or anything., She adds: Whatever my uncle does to bring awareness to the epidemic and the issue, thats a positive.. Initial footage from The Flash trailer hints that Michael Keaton's early '90s Batman faked his death, according to a popular theory. [45] He played Captain Gene Mauch in the comedy The Other Guys. Basically. When someone overdoses from fentanyl, breathing slows and their skin often turns a bluish hue. I dont even like to use the word career. It sounds so narcissistic. Then the next level of that is are you having any fun or are you even really any good right now? [43] Keaton provided the voice of Ken in Toy Story 3 (2010). Youll come up with another answer. 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But I was living. Trust me. say they bear no responsibility for the crisis, sweeping protections built into a bankruptcy settlement, a 120-page Justice Department report from 2006, reached record highs in the United States in 2021, drugs sold online or by unlicensed dealers, a uniquely misleading F.D.A.-approved label, safe to sell over the counter without a prescription, By far the largest factor is drug overdoses, mostly from fentanyl, expand the use of medication to treat substance use disorders in pregnant women. Was it cathartic to work on Dopesick? I didnt want to disrespect it. I was just commenting on the vibe. [Laughs.] Teenagers are snorting it for funand then overdosing. Pharmacies keep reporting break-ins where the thieves only want the pill. Certain things started coming around for me because I said, Im not lying down. I dont know. Based largely on the 2018 book by Beth Macy, the show seeks to dramatize how members of the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma, aided by lax regulations, pushed OxyContin onto the public starting in the 1990s. My kid and I are tight. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. She sees me and says: Hes funny. Her mother, Pamela Douglas is his sister; Mr Keatons original last name was Douglas, too, but there was already a very well-known Michael Douglas in the actors guild. Hes such a familiar, even nostalgic, figure at this point that its easy to take his uniqueness for granted. Buy naloxone. In 2014 he played the OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars in the RoboCop remake as a more active antagonist, taking RoboCop's wife and child hostage, forcing Joel Kinnaman's character to struggle to overcome the 4th directive. He always kind of treated them like they were small adults.. Shes Cher. Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer, filming was set to commence on October 1, 2019. That same year, he also gave an acclaimed dramatic performance as a drug-addicted realtor in Glenn Gordon Caron's Clean and Sober. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Its soul sucking. Ryan Hampton, a former campaign staffer for Bill Clinton and the author of the new book Unsettled, about the opioid crisis, agreed; he said the series could help Americans see that the drug abusers were not the problem. He was a huge sports fan and, like, knew every Steelers statistic inside and out starting in the Sixties, says his sister, 43. It was death, and I had never experienced death. She also brought numerous sources into the writers room, including former Purdue employees and a doctor who discussed the pressure he felt from sales reps and his own addiction to the drug. Keaton starred as a political candidate's speechwriter in 1994's Speechless. Maybe I am. [36] Keaton later reprised the role for the sequel Batman Returns (1992), which was another critically acclaimed success. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Keaton took home the SAG Award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a TV movie. [Laughs.] I remember sweat literally running down my back. [56] He also briefly reprised his role as Vulture in the SSU film Morbius,[57] which released on April 1, 2022. The thought can sometimes lighten the reality, she says. Mom. It was my sisters son. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Probably you were already angry about the Oxycontin grift, wherein the company Purdue Pharmarun by the extremely wealthy Sackler familypeddled the opioid as a nonaddictive painkiller when it was, in fact, highly addictive. Doing a scripted series also offered the unique advantage, Strong said, of putting the viewer inside of rooms with the Purdue executives as they discuss their manipulative marketing campaigns. Those scenes are not word-perfect recreations, Strong acknowledged, but they are based on mountains of existing research from Macy, who is an executive producer and helped write the series, and on additional research by Strong, Macy and others. In Dopesick, Michael Keaton Plays a Doctor Duped by Oxycontin The Hulu limited series offers an on-the-ground view of how Purdue Pharmas drug created the As the opioid epidemic ravaged Pennsylvania, however, Michael Scichilone would soon fall victim to it. Then you get onstage, and theyre there to see Cher. Macy said she had persuaded Strong to hire the Kentucky novelist Robert Gipe (Trampoline) to ensure that the series depicted small-town Appalachia without stereotypes. But Keaton didnt pass on the opportunity to play Samuel Finnix, a fictional doctor in a Virginia mining town plagued by the onset of the opioid epidemic and one She was playing the part, though. I start to get stimulated again. Fentanyl is a potent and fast-acting drug, two qualities that also make it highly addictive. A morose Peter Saarsgard plays the similarly frustrated U.S. attorney Rick Mountcastle, whose efforts to build a case are hindered by how carefully the pharmaceutical company has covered its tracks. Keaton described his nephew as a loyal and great Keaton later portrayed Stan Hurley in American Assassin. The wrenching Hulu series Dopesick wrapped up earlier this month, coming full-circle from where it started, with guilt-ridden Dr. Samuel Finnix (played impeccably by Michael Keaton) on a witness stand saying he cant believe how many of his former patients are dead because of the Oxycontin that he prescribed to them. So I went home and read it, and I went, I dont think hes going to want me to do this after I say what I think. Then we met and I go, I think the character is this, this, this and this. I remember Tims hair was really long, and hes looking at me, and as Im talking his hair is flapping up and down, like nodding woo woo, and I went, I guess hes thinking like Im thinking. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in Mr. Michael Stuhlbarg, center, as Richard Sackler. The label was based not on findings from clinical trials but on a theory advanced by Purdue that the drug was less addictive than shorter-acting pain killers. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale; Les Daniels (2000). The truth becomes clear as Finnix watches one patient after another including an injured young coal miner played by Kaitlyn Dever becomes addicted. But as the characters reveal their struggles, Dopesick gets better and better, emphasizing how dwarfed each individual is by the massive power of Purdue. And when the drug is too hard to come by, heroin becomes an easy substitute. Lets take him. So I go Cool. Meanwhile if you drove down the Strip and looked at the marquees, who the names were, they were comics that not even my dad would just older guys. Some of the most painful moments of the series come when people who know better are swept up by the pills incredibly addictive qualities anyway. Their interests are their interests. 158174; Alison McMahan (2005). [27], His next big break was working alongside Jim Belushi in the short-lived comedy series Working Stiffs, which showcased his comedic talent and led to a co-starring role in the comedy Night Shift directed by Ron Howard. Indulge me. I was always afraid that Id catch the disease.. So when you asked yourself what you really wanted, what did you come up with? But the macro is looking at all the corporations that have caused exponential damage, especially to lower- and middle-class people and their communities., Randy Ramseyer, the assistant U.S. attorney played by Hoogenakker in the series, said in an email that he didnt want viewers to blame one family and forget all the systemic failures that cause our problems.. Dopesick is going to make you angry. Tuck tuck fold. [Laughs.] Were pals to this day. Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. [53] In 2021, Keaton starred as American lawyer Kenneth Feinberg in the Netflix biographical drama film Worth.[54]. A few years ago in an interview you said that there was a point in your career, I guess it was in the mid-2000s before you sort of disappeared for a while, where you got tired of your own voice. Ive passed up so much work over the years because I was curious about other things. You have that tone: I know you like to talk in sport metaphors. Then I went, But what is he talking about? Man, I miss that stuff so much. The Bob Dylan book? The state has been one of the hardest hit by the crisis; in 2018, opioids were involved in nearly 70 per cent of Pennsylvania overdose deaths, according to government figures. Its just [expletive]. But the bigger distinction is that Dopesick, while a scripted drama, is about a real-life familys alleged role in creating one of the biggest public health catastrophes in American history: the opioid crisis. The medicine can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose and is often available at local pharmacies without a prescription. It was like, Whoa, wait a minute, this is big. But I think works real important. I would phone something in if I could. Picking that character up again 30-ish years later in The Flash, are you playing him as a continuation of that same guy or are you starting from scratch? Multiplicity is one of my favorites, too, and thats different. Keaton with Andie MacDowell in Multiplicity (1996). Michael was not, however, a big fan of attention and would likely be horrified by names, buildings or events bearing his name, she laughs. My Life: Directed by Bruce Joel Rubin. From Michael Keatons Batman to Harrison Fords Indiana Jones, nostalgia was the common theme in footage of this years blockbusters. Hed hate it, she says. Maybe I got bored with acting. "Burton's Batman: Myth, Marketing, and Merchandising." Only take pills that were prescribed by your doctor and came from a licensed pharmacy. However, when Burton was dropped as director of the film, Keaton left the franchise as well. He had previously received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance in Live from Baghdad (2002) and five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, which ultimately yielded four wins for his performances in Birdman, Spotlight, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Dopesick. But even talking to you now, I feel myself getting revved up. But with buzzy new shows like, D.L. Simon & Schuster. But because the drug was so addictiveand ruthlessly marketed by PurduePurdue Pharma made billions off of it. Ive been like that since I was a little kid. Morbius sees the titular doctor, Michael Morbius, suffering from a rare blood disease. Chronicle Books. She continues: He was a really, really great uncle. Keaton described his nephew as a loyal and great friend who was a huge sports fan and had a great sense of humor. Then, you know that whole thing of how you can manifest things? Theres 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, Shut up and act. The acting Ill quit. I mean, Thomas McGuane, hes an old friend. First of all 100 percent true absolutely no cocaine was involved. I dont think I believe that I have a responsibility exactly, but you wouldnt want to leave the world going: I could have been a mensch. Im blessed to do something that might improve someones life.. Mr. Keaton bought the property for about $5 million in 2016, and used it as a weekend getaway while he was at his home in Californias Pacific Palisades area, Ms. Stahl said. You know, probably. This was his breakout role as the fast-talking schemer Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski and earned Keaton some critical acclaim.[28]. Honestly, Im probably too frightened to phone anything in. Advertisement Advertisement 1 reason Im doing this is for Michael and you and for everyone out there, because its important. Then what happens is once you get going youre locked in. Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. [35], According to Les Daniels's reference book Batman: The Complete History, Keaton initially believed the film would be similar in tone to the 1960s TV series starring Adam West but he understood the darker, brooding side of Batman the film was going for after reading Frank Miller's comic book miniseries, The Dark Knight Returns, which he portrayed to much fan approval. Is there a story there? I will tell you, heres the thing about Tim Burton that a lot of people dont know: Because he has certain mannerisms and personality and what his art looks like, I think theres a little misperception. You look at the acts in Vegas now? I know theres an element of randomness to the roles an actor ends up taking, but youve done Dopesick and Worth and The Trial of the Chicago 7 all relatively close to each other. Meanwhile, the Sacklers, protected for now by the bankruptcy settlement, remain one of the richest families in America. [58][59] In June 2020, Keaton entered talks to reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the DC Extended Universe's upcoming superhero film, The Flash, which is scheduled to be released on June 23, 2023, after last playing the role in 1992. So the answer to that question is, I dont have any idea. I love nature and being outside. Michael Keaton has been a star for long enough to have gone through multiple and distinctly different cycles of fame and artistic expression. When I say I chased this fish down: in and out of a drift boat five or six times. In response to questions as to whether he selected his new surname due to an attraction to actress Diane Keaton, or in homage to silent film actor Buster Keaton, he has responded by saying "it had nothing to do with that.