'To my P-town family, I love you!': 'White Lotus' actor Murray Bartlett gets Emmy win

Provincetown got a shout-out at the Emmy Awards Monday night when “White Lotus” actor and town resident Murray Bartlett was one of the early winners as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

“To my P-town family, I love you!” the actor, who played a luxury hotel manager in the HBO series, said in his acceptance speech as part of thanking family and friends. He then thanked his partner Matt for “being my sanctuary,” and his mother got the biggest mention.

“I just want to thank my mom all the way home in Australia for giving me the most wonderful foundation of unconditional love,” he said at the televised ceremony in Los Angeles. “And inspiring me to believe that we can all do that for each other.”

Actor found new home in Provincetown

Bartlett and his partner moved to Provincetown shortly before the pandemic, he told the Guardian in 2021, in a move from New York City that he worried would jeopardize his acting career. Then came the role that prompted that media outlet and others to label him the "breakout star" of “White Lotus.”

In Boston: Triumphant 'Tina': Dazzling star makes national tour of Broadway's Turner musical worth the love

Bob Keary, co-host of the Friday-morning show “Wake Up! In Provincetown,” could be considered clairvoyant for predicting Bartlett’s win way back on a July 2021 episode of the talk show that streams from the Provincetown Brewing Co. taproom — at a time before “White Lotus” had even debuted.

On the episode, Bartlett — who had been one of the show’s first-ever guests in 2020 — described the limited HBO series as the “darkest” he’d ever done, but a “really funny” show that “disarms you with the humor but then hits you with a real punch.”

New permanent exhibit: 'Most open, most caring and kind town': Century of LGBTQ+ history in Provincetown revealed in new exhibitOn Monday night, “Wake Up!” posted on Instagram: “Congratulations to Provincetown community member and friend Murray Bartlett @murray.bartlett on his incredible achievement tonight in winning Best Supporting Actor at the Emmy’s for HBO’s White Lotus. Not saying we had EVERYTHING to do with it, but @bobk610 does seem to have super powers 🧙🏼‍♀️ 🔮Anyone else wanna come on the show so we can predict the next award? We ❤️ you too Murray! So well deserved.”

And Bartlett commented: “You called it!!❤️”

Monday’s triumph was Bartlett’s first Emmy, and first nomination, and his win was among 10 — the most for the night — for “White Lotus,” a Hawaii-set six-episode satire about resort employees and guests that went on to win Outstanding Limited Series.

“I’m truly honored,” Bartlett said in his speech, thanking director Mike White “for giving me one of the best experiences of my life.” He thanked the “phenomenal” cast and crews and producers on “White Lotus,” saying he was “so proud” to be part of that group.

Bartlett's Armond praised by critics

In his supporting actor category alone, Bartlett vied with co-stars Steve Zahn (“Mark Mossbacher”) and Jake Lacy (“Shane Patton”) plus four other actors.

“I’m so thrilled and honoured that @thewhitelotus has received so much Emmy love!,” Bartlett said on Instagram when the Emmy nominations were revealed this summer. “Thank you @televisionacad for recognising the genius of Mike White, and so many of our talented group. There was so much joy in the making of this show and we poured our hearts into it. … I feel extraordinarily lucky and thankful.”

Renewal: Five years after 2017 fire, iconic Surf Club restaurant reopens in Provincetown

Bartlett’s Armond character has been praised by critics and viewers, but also became known for defecating in a guest’s suitcase and for an explicit sex scene that got the Internet buzzing.

On “Wake Up!,” Bartlett had said he had wanted the “complicated” role of the hotel manager, who goes through a troubling transformation in a short time, after being intrigued by the script and because he’d always hoped to work with White, who “does dark so well.”

For Armond, “I didn’t want him to be a campy caricature of a gay man,” Bartlett told the Los Angeles Times in January. “Which I think is tricky for that character because he’s larger than life, he’s a showman in his role as the manager. It was brilliantly written. It was very funny. But I wanted him to feel real and anchored in something that felt truthful.”

Bartlett has gotten a lot of other notice for the “White Lotus” role, including previous wins at the AACTA (Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts) International Awards, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and Hollywood Critics Association Television Awards plus several nominations from other groups.

Bartlett’s past acting roles include HBO’s “Looking,” Netflix’s reboot of “Tales of the City,” a guest part on “Sex and the City,” and long-term characters on soap operas “All My Children” and “Guiding Light.” In November, he’s due to be seen in the Hulu series “Welcome to Chippendales.”

Contact Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll at kdriscoll@capecodonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @KathiSDCCT.

Get the Cape Cod news that matters delivered to your inbox.  Sign up for our free newsletters.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Emmy Awards: 'White Lotus' actor Murray Bartlett thanks Provincetown