Michael J Fox called his Parkinson’s diagnosis the ‘gift that keeps on taking’ when he appeared on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday.
The Back To The Future actor, 62, was diagnosed with the degenerative disorder aged just 29 in 1991 – but only publicly disclosed it seven years later.
In 2023, the star released an Apple TV+ documentary about his career and living with the devastating disease, which earned him a BAFTA nomination.
Speaking to BBC in light of the documentary’s nomination, Michael said: ‘I would say it’s a gift and people would look at me and I’d say it’s a gift that keeps on taking, but it’s a gift.’
Since being diagnosed, Michael has been praised for his tireless work fundraising in a bid to find a cure for Parkinson’s. He founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation to aid research efforts.
Back To The Future star Michael J Fox called his Parkinson’s diagnosis the ‘gift that keeps on taking’ as he appeared on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday
In 2023, the star released an Apple TV+ documentary about his life in film and his subsequent diagnosis, which earned him a BAFTA nomination (pictured)
Michael said: ‘I realised I had to turn it around and turn it into something and make it some positive thing that affected other people in a positive way.
‘So I think that’s why I started the foundation, but it took me a long time to get there.’
In his documentary, which was released in May 2023, Michael looks back on his blockbuster career with director Davis Guggenheim and shares how he first noticed the signs of what would be diagnosed as Parkinson’s disease.
He said the documentary is about when ‘an incurable optimist meets an incurable disease’ as he spoke about his battle with the condition.
‘I have Parkinson’s, I struggle with it,’ he said. ‘It’s hard, it’s annoying, it’s a bit more than annoying but it can be devastating for some people.’
Michael displayed symptoms of early-onset Parkinson’s as early as 1991 while shooting the film Doc Hollywood, and was told by doctors that in a few years he would not be able to work.
After being diagnosed, Michael started drinking heavily and became depressed. But after seeking help, he found sobriety and publicly disclosed his condition in 1998.
On why he concealed his Parkinson’s for so many years, Michael said: ‘Yeah I didn’t know what it was going to do, how it was going to manifest itself.
Michael, now 62, was diagnosed with the degenerative disorder aged just 29 in 1991 – but only publicly disclosed it seven years later
A documentary chronicling Michael’s 30-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, titled Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, was released in May and has earned him a BAFTA nomination
‘I didn’t know what to expect and no one could really tell me what to expect.’
Michael received the Lifetime Achievement honour at the 2023 Spring Moving Image Awards for his impressive Hollywood career as well as his dedication to finding a cure for Parkinson’s.
In his documentary, Michael detailed the devastating moment in which he revealed the diagnosis to his wife of 35 years Tracy and how she vowed to support him all along the way.
Michael, who continued to act for years, recalled: ‘I told Tracy the news. “In sickness and in health,” I remember her whispering.’
He added that ‘no one outside my family’ knew of his diagnosis and he took pills to ‘hide’ his symptoms.
The actor did not specify if it was were recreational or prescription drugs that he was self-medicating with.
In behind the scenes footage, he is pictured dodging explosions and gunfire and unmanned vehicles as he runs through the desert in a scene from Tim Burton’s black sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks, which was shot before he had announced his diagnosis.
Michael detailed the devastating moment in which he revealed the diagnosis to his wife of 35 years Tracy , and how she vowed to support him all along the way (pictured in November)
The trailer began with Michael saying, ‘The story of me. Take two.’
Then there is newly shot footage meant to look like behind-the-scenes clips of him getting ready to film a pivotal scene with Christopher Lloyd in Back To The Future, which seamlessly transitions into a clip from the classic film.
At the start, Michael answers a question from Guggenheim to explain the title of the film.
‘What does it mean to be still?’ asks the director, who has directed numerous television episodes and the documentaries An Inconvenient Truth and Waiting For Superman.
‘I wouldn’t know, I was never still,’ replies Michael.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
