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Samuel Johnson says he still has no plans to return to acting, despite his double Logie win on Sunday night.
Johnson was the big winner of the 59th Annual Logie Awards, taking out the Gold Logie for Best Personality on Australian Television as well the Logie for Best Actor for his portrayal of Australian music industry legend Molly Meldrum.
Johnson's sister Connie is dying from breast cancer and he once unicycled around Australia to raise money for research into the disease.
The actor said he had quit acting to focus on raising money to fight cancer, and had made a promise not to stop until he had reached $10 million. He has so far raised $4 million.
"I'm sick of seeing families go down to cancer, that's my new obsession," he said.
"I don't take promises lightly and I look forward to keeping that one.
"It's about kicking cancer in the face hole."
In his acceptance speech on Sunday night he described himself as a "outlier of sorts" who was "desperate to find my place in this world" and joked that his family called their Preston home "the Prestonian Institute for the Temporarily Defeated".
Speaking on ABC Radio Melbourne on Monday, he admitted that the timing of his decision to quit acting to focus on cancer research wasn't ideal in light of his Logies win.
"I'm giving it a spell for now," he confirmed.
"I feel like I'm retiring the year I've won the Brownlow.
"It feels like epically bad timing but I've got to stick to my word.
"There's not much work going around at the best of times. I wasn't retiring from much."
Discussing his award-wining portrayal of Meldrum, he said he did not know "who it's more bizarre for, me or Molly".
"He's loved this ride just as much as I have and I couldn't have thought of a better way to finish it than to be given a gold Stetson [hat] by the great man himself," he said.
'She's going out blazing'
Johnson told the Logies audience on Sunday he "was a very spirited, very confused kid, with a colourful background and a savage excess of energy".
"I found my home here in the arts, a place that celebrated difference, a place that encouraged me to be truthful, to work harder, to pursue excellence. I did none of that."
When he accepted the award for Best Actor Johnson took the opportunity to speak again about his sister Connie's cancer diagnosis.
"My sister is succumbing finally to the perils of cancer after a three-decade-long tussle," Johnson said.
"Rather than rolling over, she's going out blazing with an attempted world record for the longest line of coins, absurdly.
"She's putting together a row of coins in the shape of a love heart."
Johnson and Connie started the charity Love Your Sister, which is dedicated to raising awareness and money for breast cancer research, and he asked people to donate to support the cause.
"I cannot play pretend on telly while our families are falling," Johnson wrote on his Love Your Sister Facebook page in February.
Topics: television-broadcasting, television, awards-and-prizes, australia
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