Michael J Fox is speaking candidly about stepping back in front of the camera, and the Parkinson’s symptoms that have made acting — particularly memorizing lines — increasingly challenging.
The 65-year-old actor, who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease in 1991 at age 29, said his return came earlier than he anticipated because his role on Shrinking allowed him to “show up on set” as himself.
Fox initially retired in 2000, two years after making his diagnosis public. He later returned for select television appearances, including roles on Scrubs and The Good Wife, before stepping away from acting again in 2020.
Explaining that decision to People, Fox said a major new obstacle had surfaced: “A new variable emerged: my ability to memorize lines.
“There’s a time for everything, and the time for 12-hour workdays was behind me,” he added.
Earlier this year, Fox joined the Harrison Ford-led comedy-drama Shrinking for its third season.
Michael J Fox, 65, said he returned to acting sooner than expected because his Shrinking role let him “show up on set” as himself
Fox was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease in 1991, when he was 29
The Apple TV series was co-created by Fox’s friend Bill Lawrence, and the actor said the part gave him space to “use how I feel on any given day and channel it into the scene.”
In the show, Fox plays Gerry, a character who forms a friendship with Ford’s Dr Paul Rhoades, who is also dealing with a Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Fox earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, though Rob Reiner was announced as the winner over the weekend.
Fox first received his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1991 while filming Doc Hollywood, after he began experiencing pain in his shoulder.
The actor went public with his diagnosis in 1998.
Fox previously worked with Shrinking’s co-creator Lawrence on ABC’s Spin City. However, he left after season four in 2000 after his Parkinson’s symptoms worsened.
The dad-of-four also featured in a two-episode arc on Scrubs, another Lawrence-led series, where he played a genius doctor with severe OCD.
Fox has said the disease prompted him to largely retire from acting, devoting more time to spending time with his family and working for his foundation, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which funds research and the search for a Parkinson’s disease cure
Shrinking was created by Fox’s pal Bill Lawrence, as Fox said he enjoyed having the freedom to ‘use how I feel on any given day and channel it into the scene.’ Above, with Harrison Ford
Fox previously worked with Lawrence on ABC’s Spin City. However, he left after season four in 2000, after his Parkinson’s symptoms worsened (above, in 1999)
Fox first retired in 2000, three years after publicly sharing his diagnosis. He did make several cameos on the television series Scrubs and The Good Wife (above) before being forced to take a break from acting again in 2020
Most famously, Fox starred as teenager Marty McFly in the science fiction movie Back to the Future in 1985 (above), as well as in the sequels Back to the Future Part II (in 1989) and Back to the Future III (in 1990)
Most famously, Fox starred as teenager Marty McFly in the science fiction movie Back to the Future in 1985, as well as in the sequels Back to the Future Part II (in 1989) and Back to the Future III (in 1990).
He played Alex P Keaton on Family Ties from 1982 until 1989.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that causes the impairment and death of nerve cells that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates body movements.
Without dopamine, patients have balance issues, tremors throughout the body, stiff limbs, and slow movement.
According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, roughly 90,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease every year, and 10 to 20 percent are under age 50.
Experts are still unsure what causes Parkinson’s disease, though evidence suggests that genetic factors and environmental triggers like exposure to strong chemicals and pesticides could be to blame.
In younger patients, a family history of the disease may play a role, according to the Michael J Fox Foundation.
