Micheal Keaton seems to have a gripe with the industry for portraying his Oscar-nominated performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “ Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” as a grand Hollywood comeback. The actor never grasped that awards season narrative as he never truly went anywhere in the first place.

“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 a load of hogwash.’”

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 create that [comeback] narrative, but I knew I’m going to be making things up 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” enveloped Keaton 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 return to acclaim as a 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.

Keaton was nominated for best actor at the Oscars for 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” won the Oscar for best picture.

“I never panic,” Keaton told GQ about his career strategy. “If you get desperate, you’re doomed. 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 finished.”

Visit GQ magazine’s website to read Keaton’s full interview.