Michael J. Fox on how Parkinson’s led to booze battle
Michael J. Fox has revealed how his Parkinson’s diagnosis at the age of 29 drove him to alcoholism and drug abuse.
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Actor Michael J. Fox said his Parkinson’s diagnosis at the age of 29 drove him to alcoholism and that he used dopamine pills and props in his left hand for years to hide the incurable disease.
The much-loved Back to the Future actor, now 61, is set to release his new documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
He received a long standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival, where the documentary, which will stream on Apple TV+ later this year, had its world premiere.
The Family Ties star said he was particularly moved to see his own family on-screen as he looked back on his “amazing f------ life”.
“When I watch the film the thing that screams at me — how lucky I’ve been and how successful I’ve been — is the stuff with my family. It’s just such joy,” said the actor.
“I see my daughters laughing, (wife) Tracy (Pollan) trying to make sense of my craziness, and (my son) Sam being a 33-year-old man. When the hell did that happen?”
In the documentary, Fox admits that after receiving his Parkinson’s diagnosis, he “drank to dissociate” and popped dopamine pills to calm the symptoms.
“I was definitely an alcoholic. But I’ve gone 30 years without having a drink,’ he said.
“I was the Prince of Hollywood,’ he said, according to the New York Post.
When the doctor told Fox he had been diagnosed, he told him: “You know who you’re talking to, right? I’m not supposed to get this.‘You think (life’s) made of brick and rock. But it’s not. It’s made out of paper and feathers. It’s an illusion.”
Fox discovered he had the disease after waking up from a night of drinking to find his pinky finger twitching in 1990.
After it wouldn’t stop, he went to a neurologist in 1991 and was diagnosed with the disease.
He would go on to hide the disease for seven years by carrying props in his left hand.
At the Sundance Q and A, Fox also mentioned his recent viral reunion with Back to the Future” co-star Christopher Lloyd.
“Chris is one of the great guys of all time. When I worked with him on the movies, I was so busy so we didn’t establish a complex relationship,” he said. “As we’ve gotten older and these events show up — ComicCon, things like that — and we started talking, I realised what a great guy he is. And I also realised what a genius he is.”
He added of the 84-year-old actor, “He’s getting younger and I’m getting older.”
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Originally published as Michael J. Fox on how Parkinson’s led to booze battle
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