Michael Keaton Earns Best Actor Academy Award Nomination For Birdman

The Academy has announced Michael Keaton as a nominee in the 2015 Academy Award’s Best Actor category for his performance in Birdman.

The award, which is bestowed to the best male performance in a leading role, is the highest that an actor can receive. As Birdman’s Riggan Thomsan, Keaton played a washed-out comic book actor, a satirical analog for the real-life Keaton and his history as Hollywood’s first Batman. Keaton, who has never received an Oscar nod before, took home the Golden Globe award for Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) for his Birdman performance earlier this month. While it’s certainly not a guarantee, many view The Golden Globes as a “warm up” for the Oscars, with the expectation that many of the Globe’s winners will move on to win an Academy Award.

The full list of nominees include:

Steve Carell in Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton in Birdman
Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything
Bradley Cooper in American Sniper

The winner will be revealed during the 2015 Academy Awards show on Sunday, February 22nd on ABC.