Michael J. Fox quits acting over declining health

The Back to the Future star has released a new memoir, and in it he’s disclosed the tough decision he’s made due to his declining health.

Michael J. Fox is cutting ties with the world of acting.

“There is a time for everything, and my time of putting in a 12-hour workday, and memorising seven pages of dialogue, is best behind me,” the Canadian-American actor, 59, revealed in his new book and fourth memoir, No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality.

“At least for now … I enter a second retirement,” the Family Ties star continued.

“That could change, because everything changes. But if this is the end of my acting career, so be it.”

RELATED: Michael J. Fox reveals tough toll Parkinson’s battle has had on family

Actor Michael J. Fox and his long-term wife Tracy Pollan. Picture: Peter Kramer/Getty Images

The decision follows Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at 29, recently noticing symptoms of the disease including memory loss, delusions and dementia, cognitive declines which he writes he had “rarely contemplated before now, much less spoke of.” These have included confusing his twin daughters and searching for his car keys — despite the fact that he can no longer drive, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Back to the Future star also suffered a bad fall in 2019 while filming a cameo for the movie See You Yesterday, just four months after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour on his spine.

RELATED: Michael J. Fox reveals terrifying health battle moment ‘as low as it gets’

The star became famous on Back to the Future.

Fox credits his optimism for allowing his career to continue despite his physical degradation. When he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991, a doctor told him he’d be lucky if he was able to work another decade, a prediction which, 30 years, seven Emmy nominations and one Emmy win later, Fox has clearly defied.

In addition to discussing his health and future career, Fox also touches on his family, famous friends and sobriety struggles in his book, out this week.

RELATED: Michael J. Fox’s emotional interview about disease

Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson attend the Back to the Future reunion in 2015. Picture: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

“She’s not always a rock, but that’s okay,” he writes of wife Tracy Pollan, to whom he’s been married for 32 years. “Rocks are solid, stubborn, and immovable. That’s me. Tracy, on the other hand, has learned to keep the rock rolling.”

This story originally appeared on the NY Post and has been reproduced here with permission