Micheal Keaton appears to have a bone to pick with the industry for turning his Oscar-nominated role in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” into his grand Hollywood comeback. The actor never understood that awards season narrative as he never really went anywhere in the first place.
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“A really, really, really smart guy, a guy I liked a lot, said, ‘Comeback — that’s the story,’” Keaton recently told GQ magazine about his “Birdman” role. “I went, ‘Honestly, it’s kind of bullshit.’”
Keaton’s not exactly wrong considering he never stopped acting for any extended period of time. The actor was coming off four years of consecutive theatrical releases, including studio films like “RoboCop” and “Need for Speed,” so it’s not like he was ever out of the spotlight by the time “Birdman” brought him Oscar buzz and acclaim.
“I thought I could make that [comeback] story up, but I knew I’m going to be bullshitting every time I talk about it,” Keaton said. “By the way, I know business. I like business. Doesn’t bother me. You go, ‘This is a business, man.’”
A big reason “Birdman” swallowed Keaton up in a comeback narrative is because of the movie’s own meta narrative. Keaton stars in the film as a washed-up Hollywood actor best known for playing the hugely popular superhero Birdman earlier in his career, a nod to Keaton’s own history of playing Batman. That alone conflated Keaton with his character, who spirals out of control as he tries to mount an acting comeback on Broadway. The character’s comeback into an acclaimed dramatic actor and the immediate Oscar buzz that met Keaton’s performance all created a perfect awards season narrative that Keaton himself was on a comeback for the ages.
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Keaton was nominated for best actor at the Oscars thanks to his performance in “Birdman.” He won the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama film and was also nominated at the BAFTA Film Awards and SAG Awards. “Birdman” took home the Oscar for best picture.
“I never panic,” Keaton told GQ about his career strategy. “If you get desperate, you’re fucked. Don’t ever get desperate. You can get insecure and nervous, and go, ‘Wow, boy, I’m not doing so great right now.’ But when you get desperate, you’re dead.”
Head over to GQ magazine’s website to read Keaton’s cover story in its entirety.
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