Michael J. Fox opens up on his decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease

Michael J. Fox has opened up in an emotional interview with Waleed Aly, delving into his decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Michael J. Fox has opened up in an emotional interview with Waleed Aly, delving into his decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Michael J. Fox has opened up in an emotional interview with Waleed Aly, delving into his decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

The Hollywood superstar, best known for his lead role in the Back To The Future series, was diagnosed at the peak of his career at the age of just 29.

He remembered the life-changing moment the doctor confirmed he would be battling the debilitating disease for the rest of his life.

“I said something to the effect of, ‘I don‘t get this. You can‘t be telling me I have this’,” Fox recounted on Wednesday night’s edition of The Project.

“Then he said, ‘You lose with this. You don’t win with this. There is no winning.’ For me, that was astounding because I’ve always based everything on winning.”

He said he is sometimes shaken awake by the disease but has vowed to dedicate his life to helping others fight the disease.

“I think it is something that is incontrovertible. It is what it is,” he said.

“There are so many ways of getting around things in life. You can short-circuit things and take short cuts and ignore what is happening in our lives and with something like this, you can‘t.

Michael J. Fox has opened up in an emotional interview with Waleed Aly, delving into his decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Fox has spent much of his life campaigning for further funding towards Parkinson’s. The Michael J Fox Foundation has raised nearly $2 billion and this year achieved a landmark scientific breakthrough, a biomarker that will revolutionise detection and treatment for the disease.

Fox described the landmark achievement as “extremely moving, no pun intended” and went so far as saying his disease is “a gift”, even if he once believed it was the “cosmic price” for becoming an international superstar.

“I always say progress is a gift and people say to me, ‘How can you possibly describe it as a gift?’ And I say, ‘It is the gift that keeps on taking, but it is a gift.’

“I’m really happy with the way my life has turned out and I love the chance I have to be of service.”

Scene from the documentary Still: A Michael J Fox Movie

Michael J Fox in Back to the Future II. Picture: Supplied

In the revealing documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, the star discussed meeting his wife Tracy Pollan on the Family Ties set in 1985. She was cast as his love interest in the show.

“One day, we broke for lunch. After lunch, we picked up where we left off. The moment she said her first line, I detected a hint of garlic and sensed an opportunity to have a little fun at her expense. ‘Whoa, a little scampi for lunch, babe?’” Fox remembers of the moment.

“At first she said nothing. Her expression didn’t even change. But looking me dead in the eyes she said slowly, ‘That was mean, and rude, and you’re a complete and total f***ing a**hole.’”

At the peak of his fame, starring in the hit sitcom as well as the huge Back To The Future franchise, Fox admitted he was not accustomed to being spoken to in such a negative way.

“Nobody talked to me that way. This woman was completely unintimidated by whoever I thought I was. A pig is a pig no matter how many hit movies he’s just had,” Fox said.

Speaking candidly, Fox said he “was a bit of a d**k” in that period of his life.

He added that although she was joking, it made enough of an impact on him to really feel something.

“She was joking, but I didn’t get it because no one would ever joke with me like that,” Fox said.

“I was not the butt of any jokes. She just poked through that, like, you’re a scared little kid and I’ll just call you out. In that moment I fell in love with her.”

Fox, 61, and Pollan, 62, have been married since 1988 and have four children together – Sam, 33, Aquinnah, 28, Schuyler, 28 and Esme, 21.

Fox has consistently credited Pollan for helping him through his Parkinson’s diagnosis.

.@realmikefox is a Hollywood legend and a household name worldwide. Now, as the star battles Parkinson’s disease, he reveals to #TheProjectTV, why he believes it's is the gift that keeps on taking. pic.twitter.com/qmE9cR1bZA

— The Project (@theprojecttv) May 17, 2023

Originally published as Michael J. Fox opens up on his decades-long battle with Parkinson’s disease