Matthew Broderick stars as one of the series leads, Purdue Pharma president Richard Sackler. Talking about the decision to cast Broderick in the role as Sackler, showrunner Micah Fitzerman-Blue said: \u201cWe wanted to make sure that in this series, you see Richard Sackler as a person. I mean, we cast Matthew Broderick. He\u2019s a hard guy to dislike on screen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Broderick joins a cast that includes Uzo Aduba, Taylor Kitsch, West Duchovny and more, but after watching Painkiller, viewers\u2019 thoughts will naturally turn to where Sackler is now.<\/p>\n
So, what happened to Richard Sackler? Read on for everything you need to know.<\/p>
Who is Richard Sackler?<\/strong><\/h2>\n ![\"Matthew]( "\\"PAINKILLER_Netflix_MatthewBroderick\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Matthew Broderick as Richard Sackler in Painkiller.<\/span><\/figcaption> Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nAlthough many of the characters in Painkiller are fictionalised or a composite character \u2013 like Edie Flowers<\/a> \u2013 Richard Sackler is indeed a real person.<\/p>\nThe American businessman and physician was the chairman and president of Purdue Pharma, which was owned principally by members of the\u00a0Sackler family\u00a0as descendants of\u00a0Mortimer\u00a0and\u00a0Raymond Sackler.<\/p>\n
Richard, one of the son\u2019s of Raymond, trained as a doctor and originally joined Purdue<\/a> in 1971 as his father\u2019s assistant and worked his way up the corporate ladder. Purdue\u2019s leading drug at the time, MS Contin, was facing competition and so, the decision was made to pursue research over the production of OxyContin.<\/p>\nAfter getting the FDA to approve OxyContin in 1995, the company\u2019s marketing drive for the new drug branded it as safer to use than other painkillers.<\/p>\n
In Painkiller, we follow Richard through the creation of OxyContin, flash back to his past and at the end, in the future as he faces a barrage of lawsuits.<\/p>\n
Talking about the decision to cast Matthew Broderick in the role, Painkiller director and executive producer Pete Berg said: \u201cOur portrayal of Richard Sackler certainly doesn\u2019t think that he\u2019s the bad guy in the story of his life, and one of the really interesting things about Matthew is that he\u2019s just an incredibly nice and kind person, which he brings to playing a character who\u2019s morally questionable. He\u2019s found a whole other dimension to what could have been a somewhat one-note character.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where is Richard Sackler now?<\/strong><\/h2>\n ![\"Painkiller]( "\\"Painkiller-Netflix-MatthewBroderick\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Painkiller: Matthew Broderick as Richard Sackler.<\/span><\/figcaption> Keri Anderson\/Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nAs for where Sackler is now, the series wraps up with some up-to-date details about the real-life events on which the series is based. A series of news reports flash up stating that\u00a0\u201cPurdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy in 2019 as a direct result of the multi-state lawsuits\u201d.<\/p>\n
It states that the Sacklers agreed to pay a settlement of $6 billion<\/a> and have had to forfeit ownership of Purdue Pharma. No member of the Sackler family has ever been criminally charged in connection with the marketing of OxyContin or any overdose deaths involving it, and Richard has previously denied that he and his family were responsible for the opioid crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\nPainkiller finally states that \u201cit\u2019s estimated that over 300,000 people have died over the past 20 years from overdoses involving prescription painkillers like OxyContin and that over 40 people die in the US from prescription opioid overdoses every day\u201d.<\/p>\n
It also states that as of March 2023, final approval for Purdue Pharma\u2019s bankruptcy is still pending.<\/p>\n
Over the past several years, Purdue Pharma has been embroiled with multi-state lawsuits, leading to Richard Sackler selling a number of his properties. In 2018, Sackler sold his Cicero Lane home in Austin, Texas<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for more than $3 million.<\/p>\nAs reported in 2022, Sackler also sold his eight-bedroom, 10-bathroom Boca Raton, Florida estate for $4.88 million, according to The New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe Sackler family have not admitted any wrongdoing throughout the litany of lawsuits against Purdue Pharma but have agreed to pay the $6 billion settlement. As recently as March 2023, Richard Sackler prepared to sell a third property<\/a> of his for approximately $20 million.<\/p>
![\"Matthew](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/PAINKILLERNetflixMatthewBroderick-94e2e99.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"PAINKILLER_Netflix_MatthewBroderick\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Although many of the characters in Painkiller are fictionalised or a composite character \u2013 like Edie Flowers<\/a> \u2013 Richard Sackler is indeed a real person.<\/p>\n The American businessman and physician was the chairman and president of Purdue Pharma, which was owned principally by members of the\u00a0Sackler family\u00a0as descendants of\u00a0Mortimer\u00a0and\u00a0Raymond Sackler.<\/p>\n Richard, one of the son\u2019s of Raymond, trained as a doctor and originally joined Purdue<\/a> in 1971 as his father\u2019s assistant and worked his way up the corporate ladder. Purdue\u2019s leading drug at the time, MS Contin, was facing competition and so, the decision was made to pursue research over the production of OxyContin.<\/p>\n After getting the FDA to approve OxyContin in 1995, the company\u2019s marketing drive for the new drug branded it as safer to use than other painkillers.<\/p>\n In Painkiller, we follow Richard through the creation of OxyContin, flash back to his past and at the end, in the future as he faces a barrage of lawsuits.<\/p>\n Talking about the decision to cast Matthew Broderick in the role, Painkiller director and executive producer Pete Berg said: \u201cOur portrayal of Richard Sackler certainly doesn\u2019t think that he\u2019s the bad guy in the story of his life, and one of the really interesting things about Matthew is that he\u2019s just an incredibly nice and kind person, which he brings to playing a character who\u2019s morally questionable. He\u2019s found a whole other dimension to what could have been a somewhat one-note character.\u201d<\/p>\n As for where Sackler is now, the series wraps up with some up-to-date details about the real-life events on which the series is based. A series of news reports flash up stating that\u00a0\u201cPurdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy in 2019 as a direct result of the multi-state lawsuits\u201d.<\/p>\n It states that the Sacklers agreed to pay a settlement of $6 billion<\/a> and have had to forfeit ownership of Purdue Pharma. No member of the Sackler family has ever been criminally charged in connection with the marketing of OxyContin or any overdose deaths involving it, and Richard has previously denied that he and his family were responsible for the opioid crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Painkiller finally states that \u201cit\u2019s estimated that over 300,000 people have died over the past 20 years from overdoses involving prescription painkillers like OxyContin and that over 40 people die in the US from prescription opioid overdoses every day\u201d.<\/p>\n It also states that as of March 2023, final approval for Purdue Pharma\u2019s bankruptcy is still pending.<\/p>\n Over the past several years, Purdue Pharma has been embroiled with multi-state lawsuits, leading to Richard Sackler selling a number of his properties. In 2018, Sackler sold his Cicero Lane home in Austin, Texas<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for more than $3 million.<\/p>\n As reported in 2022, Sackler also sold his eight-bedroom, 10-bathroom Boca Raton, Florida estate for $4.88 million, according to The New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Sackler family have not admitted any wrongdoing throughout the litany of lawsuits against Purdue Pharma but have agreed to pay the $6 billion settlement. As recently as March 2023, Richard Sackler prepared to sell a third property<\/a> of his for approximately $20 million.<\/p> Where is Richard Sackler now?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Painkiller](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/Painkiller-Netflix-MatthewBroderick-b2bc6af.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Painkiller-Netflix-MatthewBroderick\\"\/")
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