Jason Isaacs, one of the Emmy-nominated stars of “The White Lotus” Season 3, gave a rousing acceptance speech at the Creative Coalition‘s Humanitarian Awards Luncheon on Sept. 13, during which he warned that “hate is being weaponized everywhere in the world.”
The actor, who was among seven esteemed creatives honored at the ceremony, began his speech by citing his mother as a contentious inspiration for a life of service. “She was much more comfortable helping other people than being herself,” he said of his upbringing. “I found her incredibly annoying. She told us all the time how she was saving the world.” Now at 62 years old, though, Isaacs admits, “One thing my mother did give me, along with all kinds of terrible complexes, is a sense of responsibility, and that with great privilege comes great responsibility.”
He explained that he got into acting because he felt more comfortable pretending to be someone else than being himself, and that he discovered immense satisfaction in giving back. After his statement on the dangers of hatred, he shared a story of volunteering with an aspiring teenage filmmaker at a school in South Central Los Angeles and how this young girl he worked with led a troubled life, yet found inspiration and purpose in the arts. “I have books and I have the arts,” Isaacs recalls the girl saying, “And I know there is a way out of this community coming.”
The message resonated with the Creative Coalition’s mission of protecting and supporting the arts. This year’s Humanitarian Awards’ theme was “caregiving” and each honoree shared stories from and perspectives on their relationships to the topic. Alongside Isaacs, the other honorees were his “White Lotus” co-stars Jon Gries and Natasha Rothwell, “Severance” star John Turturro, “Ginny & Georgia” star Brianne Howey, “Matlock” star Skye P. Marshall and “Poker Face” star Judith Light.
With a mix of humor and introspection, Turturro’s speech reflected on his experiences taking care of his late brother with mental challenges and physical illness. The Emmy-nominated actor said, “My older, late brother, Ralph, was very talented, very friendly, a generous soul, but he was in pain from an early age, and he suffered, and he never received any accolades in his life. But the one thing he did was he taught me the value of perseverance in the face of extreme difficulty, and for this, I am eternally indebted to him.” Turturro ended his speech with a bittersweet story of his brother, who, while undergoing chemotherapy, requested that he speak to him like Arnold Schwarzenegger for the duration of his treatments. “I did that for 12 minutes straight, for over 12 treatments, which is not easy,” Turturro remembered before showcasing his spot-on imitation of the Austrian actor.
Marshall talked about the importance of role models in her life, paying tribute to her mother. She said, “At the age of 12, my family lost everything, and we were homeless, and I lived in those neighborhoods that most of you wouldn’t walk through, but what my mom did for me is she gave me the audacity to believe that I was entitled to equality.” She encouraged others to “stand in power” and use that power to lift each other up.
Similarly, the Emmy-nominated Rothwell opened her speech saying, “Talent is a gift, but service is a choice.” She added that she is dedicated to using her platform for service. “My path in this life and my purpose is simple: It’s to use my platform to center marginalized voices in front of and behind the camera, to shine a light on the issues facing those communities, whether it’s mentoring emerging storytellers, or supporting arts education, or using my platform to share my own relationship to anxiety, depression and ADHD, which is a triple threat,” she said, “I am very committed to using my platform and the power of the arts to leave the world a little bit better than I found it.”
Howey, who has also been a longtime advocate for mental health awareness and support, accepted her award. “I’ve come to understand that caring for our mental health isn’t something that we’re just born knowing how to do. It’s a practice, a daily practice, and one that we all need to learn, myself included,” she said. Howey has explored such topics through her role on “Ginny & Georgia” and praised how arts and entertainment play a significant role in normalizing conversations around mental health.
Gries and Light bookended the line of acceptance speeches, both touching upon the vulnerability of the arts and humanitarian work. Gries talked about empathy and the need for giving back. “In this day and age, we’re faced with incredible cuts of money for really, really good causes, and empathy is so important— empathy and understanding,” he said. Meanwhile, Light stated, “The world we thought we knew, the one we believed that we would continue to grow and live in and pass on to our children and pass on to our young people, is no longer the world that we have worked so long and so hard to sustain.” She concluded with optimism, though, acknowledging the Creative Coalition as a beacon of hope. “There is no reason to despair,” she said, “This group here and the supporters of the Creative Coalition— this magnificent, magical group—sends out not only a warning, but also reverberates, resonates and resounds with the knowledge that we are all one, and that there is actually something that we can do about the things that are happening now.”
The Humanitarian Awards Luncheon took place at Craig’s restaurant in West Hollywood one day ahead of the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Michael Chiklis, Michelle Chiklis and Eden Alpert co-chaired the event while Variety‘s Senior Culture & Events Editor Marc Malkin hosted.
