What happened to Michael Keaton's nephew? Dopesick star dedicates SAG win in emotional speech

Michael Keaton recently won the Actor for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for his performance in Dopesick at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Speaking about the power of a project like Dopesick, Keaton mentioned the awareness it could bring to problems like addiction. He said that he had a job, where he could be a part of a production that could spawn thought, conversation, and actual change. Keaton continued:

“Who gets to have that job? Seriously? How fortunate am I that good can come from something I do just because I learn to become an actor? There’s massive inequity in the world. In Dopesick, when you talk about addiction, the way to heal the problems is to accept that you have a problem. Not our country. The entire world. Economically, racially, socially, financially. There’s massive inequity in the world. There’s just is. There’s fair, and there’s unfair. There’s not a lor of room in between.”

The Toy Story 3 star then became emotional while mentioning his nephew, also named Michael, who passed away in 2016 after an accidental overdose of heroin and fentanyl. He said:

“Given the subject matter, this is for my nephew, Michael, and my sister Pam. I lost Michael…and it hurts. To my sister Pam, thanks.”

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Michael Keaton's nephew’s cause of death

As mentioned earlier, Michael Keaton dedicated his award at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards to his nephew. He died from an accidental overdose of heroin and fentanyl in 2016, and Keaton expressed his grief over his nephew’s death.

Michael Keaton accepts the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for "Dopesick" during the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards (Image via Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

The 70-year-old received the award for his performance in Hulu’s Dopesick. It is based on a book of the same name and follows the country’s opioid crisis, relatable to Michael’s personal life.

The Spotlight actor played the role of a doctor in a coal-mining town overwhelmed by OxyContin. While speaking to USA Today in October 2021, he said that it was not easy for him to join the show. He mentioned:

“If the writing wasn’t good and the quality of the people involved wasn’t as high, I can’t guarantee that I’d have done it, just based on losing Michael.”

Created by Danny Strong, Dopesick is a drama miniseries that premiered on Hulu on October 13, 2021. It received positive reviews from critics and was a recipient of several accolades at the 12th Critics’ Choice Television Awards, 79th Golden Globe Awards, 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards, and 33rd GLAAD Media Awards.