Jason Isaacs, one of the Emmy-nominated stars for “The White Lotus” Season 3, gave a lively speech at the Creative Union’s Humanitarian Awards luncheon on September 13th.
Among the seven respected creatives at the ceremony, the actor began his speech by quoting his mother as a controversial inspiration for a life of service. “She was much more comfortable helping others than she was herself,” he said of his upbringing. “I found her incredibly annoying. She was always telling us how she was saving the world.” But at age 62, Isaacs said, “One of the things my mother gave me is that all sorts of horrifying complexes are responsible and having great privileges is a great responsibility.”
He explained that he was caught up in the acting because he felt more comfortable pretending to be someone else than he was himself, and that he found great satisfaction in giving back. After a statement on the dangers of hatred, he shared the story of volunteering with an aspiring teenage filmmaker at a school in Southern Los Angeles, and how he worked and how he lived a troubled life. “I have books, I have art,” recalls the girl who says, “I know there’s a way for this community to come.”
This message resonated with the Creative Coalition’s mission to protect and support the arts. The theme of this year’s Humanitarian Awards was “caregiving,” with each recipient sharing a story and perspective on their relationship to the topic. Along with Isaac, other winners were his “White Lotus” co-stars John Griese and Natasha Roswell, “Retired” star John Tarturo, “Ginny & Georgia” star Brian Howie, “Matlock” star Sky Martial and “Poker Face” star Judith Light.
A mix of humor and introspection, Turturro’s speech is reflected in his experience of caring for a brother who has died from mental challenges and physical illness. The Emmy-nominated actor said, “My older, late brother, Ralph, was extremely talented, very friendly and generous soul, but he had been in pain from an early age. Turturro ended his speech with a bittersweet story of a brother who demanded that he tell him like Arnold Schwarzenegger during his treatment period while undergoing chemotherapy. “I made it easy for 12 minutes with over 12 treatments, but that’s not easy,” Turturro recalled before introducing the spot-on mimic of the Austrian actor.
Marshall spoke about the importance of role models in her life and paid tribute to her mother. She said, “My family has lost everything, we are homeless and I lived in a neighborhood where most of you cannot pass through, but what my mother did for me gave me the audacity to believe I am qualified for equality.” She encouraged others to “protect strength” and used that power to lift each other up.
Similarly, Emmy nominated Rothwell opened her speech, “Talent is a gift, but service is a choice.” She added that she is dedicated to using her platform for its services. “My path to this life and my purpose is simple. It’s about using my platform to center around marginalized voices in front and behind the camera, lighting up the issues that those communities face, supporting arts education, or using the platform to share my relationship with anxiety, depression, ADHD. More than I found.”
A longtime advocate for mental health awareness and support, Howie embraced her award. “We’ve come to realize that caring for our mental health is not just something we’re born knowing how to do it. It’s practice, a daily practice, and we all need to learn. Howie explored such topics through her role in “Ginny & Georgia,” and praised how arts and entertainment play a key role in normalizing conversations about mental health.
Grease and Wright booked a line of acceptance speeches, touching on the vulnerability of the arts and humanitarian work. Grease spoke about the need for empathy and repaying the favor. “In this age, we are facing incredible money cuts for truly, really good causes, empathy, understanding and understanding are very important,” he said. Meanwhile, Hikari said, “The world we thought we knew, the world we believed we would grow up, to our children and to the young people, is no longer the world we have worked so hard to sustain for so long.” However, she concluded with optimism, acknowledging the creative coalition as a beacon of hope. “There’s no reason to despair,” she said. “This epic, magical group of people who are supporters of this group and creative coalition echoes and resonates not only with warnings, but also with the knowledge that we are all, and the knowledge that we can actually do about what we are going on now.”
The Humanitarian Award Lunch was held at Craig’s restaurant in West Hollywood, one day before the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Michael Chiklis, Michelle Chiklis and Eden Alpert co-chaired the event and was hosted by Marc Malkin, editor of Variety’s Senior Culture and Events.
