Michael J. Fox on His Parkinson’s Fight: ‘There’s a Time for Everything’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Michael J. Fox’s optimism has certainly helped him navigate Parkinson’s disease, but he’s also a realist, as he candidly discussed the challenges of the neurological disease.
“You eventually come to a place where you go, ‘I can do this,’” Fox said.”This is just the way it is. It’s something that happened to me. It’s not something I’m suffering from. It’s my reality.”
Throughout the progression of his disease, he maintains a positive outlook.
“I find that the partner of gratitude is acceptance and surrender,” the actor said.
But acceptance doesn’t mean the journey has been easy. Fox was diagnosed at 29 years old, soon after showing symptoms while filming DOC HOLLYWOOD.
“It’s been 30+ years; not many of us that have had this disease for 30 years. It sucks having Parkinson’s,” the 62-year-old told Jane Pauley in an interview.
“For some families, some people, it’s a nightmare. It’s a living hell,” he went on to say. “They have to deal with realities that are beyond most people’s understandings.”
Fox has said he is “kind of a freak” for having beaten the odds of the disease. The average life expectancy after the diagnosis is 14.5 years, and he was told that his acting career would have to end about 10 years after the diagnosis. However, he starred in the television show SPIN CITY and appeared in BOSTON LEGAL, SCRUBS and RESCUE ME.
“It’s weird that I’ve done as well as I have for as long as I have,” the BACK TO THE FUTURE star said.
He eventually retired from acting in 2020 due in large part because of Parkinson’s.
“There are reasons for my lapses in memorization — be they age, cognitive issues with the disease, distraction from the constant sensations of Parkinson’s, or lack of sensation because of the spine — but I read it as a message, an indicator,” Fox wrote in his memoir “No Time Like the Future.”
“There is a time for everything, and my time of putting in a twelve-hour workday, and memorizing seven pages of dialogue, is best behind me,” he wrote. “At least for now.”
It would be about eight years after his diagnosis that he would publicly announce his disease, explaining that it was getting more difficult to hide, as he recalls, especially being in the limelight.
“[The paparazzi] would stand outside my apartment and heckle at me, like, ‘What’s the matter with you?’” Fox recalled.
After he came out with Parkinson’s, he said it inspired him to become an advocate for those fighting the degenerative disease that affects one million in the U.S. and over 10 million worldwide, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
“It was a great surprise to me that people responded the way they responded,” he said. “They responded with interest, in the desire to find an answer to the disease, and then I saw that as a great opportunity. I didn’t get put in this position to squander it.”
He started his foundation, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, in 2000. It has raised $1.75 billion so far to help find a cure, per the organization’s website.
The father of four rarely makes public appearances these days but was a surprise presenter at the BAFTA awards, as Movieguide® previously reported:
Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, came onstage in a wheelchair but stood at the podium to present the award for Best Film.
“There’s a reason why they say movies are magic because movies can change your day,” the actor said during his speech. “It can change your outlook. Sometimes it can change your life.”
In addition to presenting, Fox was also at the BAFTAs as a nominee. STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE was nominated for Best Documentary.
STILL explores Fox’s career in the entertainment industry, as well as how he has navigated life with his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
“What’s striking about STILL is how celebratory it is,” Time wrote of the documentary. “This isn’t the story of a wonderful actor felled by an illness; it’s the story of a wonderful actor, period.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
