He had every reason to demonize life, to bury himself, not to go out, to sink into pity. But Michael J. Fox doesn’t do any of that – despite the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, which he received in the spring of 1991 at the age of just 29.
The “Back to the Future” star starts a fight against the incurable disease, uses all his power to get Parkinson’s more public, to raise funds for research. He also makes his personal suffering public. Relentlessly. Like now in the documentary “Still. A Michael J Fox Movie”.
“When I saw the film myself, it was shocking to me. My face sometimes looks so empty and expressionless, “says Fox to BILD am SONNTAG. “I know I’m not always aware of how I look. Not that it bothers me, but it’s intense when you see it on screen.”
Some encounters with other people are also difficult for him. “When people come up to me and say, ‘I saw you trip and fall,’ it really upsets me. I didn’t expect to ever trip over furniture either.”
Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd at Comic Con 2022
After a tumor operation on the spine, the Hollywood star fell several times, first breaking his hand and then his shoulder. After having a new shoulder put in, he also fractured his arm and elbow. But Fox doesn’t complain.
Rather, he enjoys his life as much as possible – and especially the time with his wife Tracy and their four children Sam, Aquinnah and Schuyler as well as Esmé. “My family is made up of many wonderful, fun people who keep me alive and will be with me forever. You are so smart and down to earth. My wife is a natural wonder,” says Michael J. Fox of his family.
Family ties: from left daughter Esmé (21), Michael J, Fox, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler (28), son Sam (33) and wife Tracy (62)
It was very moving for him to see that on the screen. “It was strange to realize how much I rely on these people and how much they are there for me and my relationship with them shapes me on a daily basis.”
Because he has never lied to his family, it is so important to him that they treat him as normally as possible. “You’re worried if I fall or something. But other than that, I don’t get any sympathy,” he says, laughing.
This article comes from BILD am SONNTAG. The ePaper of the entire issue is available here.
Nevertheless, he knows very well that his life is finite, the consequences of his Parkinson’s disease are increasing. “It’s getting harder, every day it’s getting harder.” Then there are falls, which are a common cause of death for those affected. “I probably won’t be 80,” Fox is almost certain.
Maybe that’s why he would like to travel back to a time when he could still live carefree. It was the moment that finally launched his career. “My dad said, ‘Okay, I’m going to take you to an acting agent.’
From 1982 to 1989 Fox starred in the series “Family Ties”
In 1985 Michael J. Fox (r.) became a world star with “Back to the Future” with Christopher Lloyd
My parents actually agreed to this ridiculous idea that I wanted to be an actor. I was this crazy kid, I wanted to drop out of school and move from Canada to California and be an actor.”
Nobody did that back then. But his father was just a pragmatist. “In that moment my life changed. He could have said no, blocked all my paths and made me miserable. But he said, ‘Okay, try it.’” In 1990, William Fox died. “But the fact that he was able to see my breakthrough was great.”
