Michael Keaton's career soaring with Oscar-nominated 'Birdman'

LOS ANGELES -- After 40 years of hard work, actor Michael Keaton is enjoying his time in Oscar's spotlight.

In the early 80s, Keaton made a name for himself with movies like "Night Shift" and "Mr. Mom." By the late 80s, it was "Beetlejuice" and "Batman." Now, "Birdman" has his career soaring.

Keaton has spent the last several weeks collecting awards for his performance in the film, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Now, there's one last statue within his grasp - the best actor Oscar.

His family, his friends and his fans have their fingers crossed.

"I can't even take it, honestly. It's so overwhelming. I'm going to need--I'm not kidding when I tell you--I need, when it's all over, just to sit down and really think about this because I feel more pressure to make them happy than me," Keaton said.

"I'm not someone who, I'm not a very high-profile person," Keaton continued. "And I don't really love talking about myself but you really don't have a choice."

The 63-year-old actor said it was experience that told him that this movie was unlike anything he'd ever done in his career.

"The film and the way he wanted to shoot the film, I knew, was not like anything I had done before, which was at least 50 percent of the excitement for me, and the other 50 percent was probably working with Alejandro Inarritu, who is an extraordinary - he is an auteur."

That auteur crafted the movie to look like it was shot all in one take.

"I love this movie so much. I love the courage of it, you know, and stepping out there. And, you know, I exposed myself very much--literally--and, but it's kind of the job, isn't it? It's the job description. It's what I think I'm supposed to do," Keaton said.

Watch the 87th Oscars ceremony on Feb. 22 on ABC!