Nick Nolte's work on Warrior earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor on Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The 70-year old actor did not expect the Oscar nod and was pleasantly surprised.
          
"It's a nice icing on the cake," Nolte said. "In fact, it's a treat to be 70 and still be working."

Warrior centers on a young mixed martial arts fighter who is trained by his father to compete in a tournament against his brother. Nolte plays the protagonist's recovered alcoholic father who was a former boxer. While the three-time nominee is grateful for the Academy's recognition, he is more focused on the work that he puts out.
          
"It's not so much the validation," Nolte said. "I think the validation is just an extra bonus on it. It's the feeling that you're still doing something that's connected to the human heart."
          
The actor's previous nominations were for The Prince of Tides and Affliction for the best actor categories.

Warrior was released on DVD last month and has an 83 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The 84th annual Academy Awards take place on Feb. 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.