Michael J. Fox Says Returning to Acting Has "Prolonged" His Life
Michael J. Fox says that returning to acting after stepping away during the pandemic has done more than reignite his career, it's helped extend his life.
"It's really prolonged my life and made my life interesting in a way that I didn't think it would be to this point," Fox told The Hollywood Reporter. The 65-year-old actor, who has lived with Parkinson's disease for more than three decades, said the decision to keep working is now entirely his own. "I'm not retired from acting," he said. "But if I didn't act again, it would be for a very good reason. I let Parkinson's make decisions for me."
A Return That Wasn't Guaranteed
Fox stepped away from acting during the pandemic after finding he could no longer reliably rely on his speech from day to day. That break lasted six years before he called longtime friend and Spin City collaborator Bill Lawrence to ask about returning to work, ultimately joining the cast of Lawrence's Apple TV+ comedy Shrinking.
Fox's performance in the show's third season earned him an Emmy nomination, playing Gerry, a patient living with Parkinson's disease. It marked a first for the actor in more than one way. "This was the first time I played someone interacting with someone else who had Parkinson's," Fox said, referring to his on-screen dynamic with co-star Harrison Ford. He added that Ford welcomed the added layer of authenticity Fox brought to the role, saying Ford "was happy that I was sharing my experience with him as a character and helping him do what he needed to do."
Fox is set to return for the show's fourth season and is preparing to head back to California to begin filming additional episodes.
Decades of Living Publicly With Parkinson's
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991 at just 29 years old, though he waited seven years before revealing the diagnosis publicly in 1998. He has said he needed that time to come to terms with the disease himself before sharing it with the world.
Looking back, Fox said he was initially unsettled by the outpouring of support he received once he went public, joking that his first reaction to the celebratory response was somewhat conflicted. He said he came to understand that reaction over time, recognizing it as recognition of what he'd been carrying privately for years.
Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to help fund research toward a cure for Parkinson's disease, and the organization remains a central part of his life alongside his continued acting work. Speaking previously about his return to the screen, Fox described the freedom of simply being able to show up and work again. "It was the first time ever I get to show up on-set, and I didn't have to worry about am I too tired or coughing or anything," he told Variety. "I just do it."
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