Michael J. Fox: “Parkinson’s? I’d just like to never wake up again. That would be amazing.”

“There aren’t many people who live with Parkinson’s for that long. I’d just like to never wake up again. That would be amazing.”
Michael J. Fox speaks without filters about his relationship with Parkinson’s disease, diagnosed at 29, and his desire not to face a “dramatic” death after 35 years of battle against the disease.

“There is no precise timeline, nor defined phases to go through, as happens for example with prostate cancer. Parkinson’s is much more mysterious and enigmatic,” says the actor, now 64, in an interview with the Times. “I don’t want it to be a drama. I don’t want to trip over furniture and hit my head.”

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease that compromises mobility and, over time, autonomy. Over the course of his career, Fox has also learned to live with it thanks to acting, which a doctor had suggested to him as a form of therapy: “Acting was useful, up to a certain point,” he admits.

But there was no shortage of accidents: “In three years I broke my elbow, my hand, I had a serious infection and I almost lost a finger. I also broke my shoulder, my cheekbone… it was truly a tragedy.” Today, walking has become more difficult and risky, but Fox tries to integrate these limitations into everyday life, without letting himself be overwhelmed.

Having become a star with the sitcom Keaton House – for which he won three Emmys and a Golden Globe -, Fox gained worldwide fame with the role of Marty McFly in Back to the Future. Despite the illness, she maintains an intense relationship with her fans: “Participating in conventions or events is not only for them, but also for me. I want to thank them for everything they have given me. My life is wonderful, even if the illness sucks. People don’t feel sorry for me, they see me as a positive force.”

Today the actor also returns to writing with Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum, a memoir that looks back to 1985 — the year he played Alex P. Keaton in The Keaton House and Marty McFly in Back to the Future — and which includes interviews with the cast and crew of the two projects. The book explores his life with Parkinson’s and the philosophy he continues to deal with every day.

At the same time, Fox will also return to the small screen in the third season of Shrinking alongside Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, on Apple TV+, playing a character suffering from Parkinson’s: a role that, once again, blends fiction with the truth of his experience.