Michael J. Fox is celebrating a well-deserved BAFTA nomination for his documentary film STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which chronicles his life and career with Parkinson's disease.
The 62-year-old star spoke with BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, February 6 about not only what the nomination for the acclaimed Apple TV+ documentary represents, but also his own relationship with the debilitating medical condition, which he unexpectedly termed "a gift."
He shared: "I would say it's a gift and people would look at me and I'd say it's a gift that keeps on taking, but it's a gift."
The beloved actor was diagnosed with the disease in 1991, but didn't choose to make it public till 1998. In 2000, he and wife Tracy Pollan founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has been devoted towards fundraising research efforts to find a cure for Parkinson's. As of 2023, it has raised a whopping $2 billion.
Speaking of starting the Foundation with Tracy, 63, Michael said: "I realized I had to turn it around and turn it into something and make it some positive thing that affected other people in a positive way. So I think that's why I started the foundation, but it took me a long time to get there."
He described the documentary as being about when "an incurable optimist meets an incurable disease" and branded the disease "annoying." Michael added: "I have Parkinson's, I struggle with it. It's hard, it's annoying, it's a bit more than annoying but it can be devastating for some people."
The Back to the Future star also opened up about why he took so long to make his diagnosis public. After he was initially diagnosed, he'd become depressed and turned to alcohol, although was able to adopt sobriety soon after with the help of friends and family.
"Yeah I didn't know what it was going to do, how it was going to manifest itself," he responded when asked why he only revealed the Parkinson's in 1998. "I didn't know what to expect and no one could really tell me what to expect."
SEE: Michael J. Fox inundated with support after rare appearance alongside wife Tracy Pollan
In a recent interview with The Guardian, the Family Ties star spoke about finding the strength to keep moving each day while not spending too much time dwelling on his past glory days.
"It just is what it is," he surmised. "It didn't defeat me. I wish it was a heroic thing. I'm not saying: 'Yeah! Bring it, bring it!' I hate it. It sucks. It's a piece of [expletive]. It's tough to get up in the morning and keep going. But I have a beautiful family and this office with trophies."
Michael and Tracy, who have been married since 1988 after meeting on the set of Family Ties, have built a family over their 35 years together consisting of their four children – son Sam, 34, twin daughters Aquinnah and Schuyler, who will turn 29 later this month, and youngest daughter Esmé, 22.
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