Michael Keaton remembers 'doubters' and his 'true' supporters in Emmys victory speech
We've all had ups and downs over the years — even Michael Keaton, apparently. When the veteran actor won the trophy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series at the 74th Annual Emmy Awards on Sunday night, he took time out of his acceptance speech to shout out both his longtime supporters — and his doubters.
"There have been some doubters. I've had some doubters," Keaton recalled on stage after accepting his award from Oprah Winfrey. "You know what? We're cool. But I also have those people all these years, even when times were rough, that were the true believers. I f-----g love you, man!"
The last part was bleeped out by the Emmys censors, but those in the room heard it.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images Michael Keaton at the 2022 Emmys
Keaton triumphed over a star-filled field of Colin Firth (The Staircase), Andrew Garfield (Under the Banner of Heaven), Oscar Isaac (Scenes from a Marriage), Himesh Patel (Station Eleven), and Sebastian Stan (Pam & Tommy).
The award marks Keaton's first Emmy win, and his third nomination. As a producer on Dopesick, he's also part of the Hulu show's Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series nomination. His previous nomination was in 2004, for hosting the PBS special Fred Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor.
Keaton has worked more in movies than TV over the course of his career, and memorably brought Batman into the modern blockbuster era with Tim Burton's 1989 superhero film. Keaton was supposed to return as the Dark Knight for the Batgirl movie, but in the wake of that film's cancellation it's unclear if or when we might see Keaton don the cape and cowl again.
"I think it was a business decision," Keaton said in the Emmys press room about Warner Bros. shelving Batgirl. "I'm going to assume it was a good one. I really don't know. I don't follow it that much."
As for when we might see him as Batman again, Keaton joked, "a little later tonight, probably. If you're lucky enough. No, I'm kidding. I don't know! We'll see."
The 74th Emmy Awards air live Monday night on NBC and stream live on Peacock.
Additional reporting by Devan Coggan.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
