Collider

'Painkiller' vs. Dopesick': Whose Richard Sackler Portrayal Is Better?

Which actor did a better job of playing the Purdue Pharma chairman: Matthew Broderick or Michael Stuhlbarg?

Image by Annamaria Ward

Michael Stuhlbarg's portrayal of Richard Sackler in Dopesick is genuinely unsettling and captures the character's nature.
Matthew Broderick's performance in Painkiller is miscast and cartoonish, failing to convey the seriousness of the OxyContin crisis.
Dopesick benefits from a more consistent and haunting tone, while Painkiller opts for a glib and garish approach that doesn't serve Broderick well.