In 2021 Michael J Fox retired from his acting career, his neurological condition was progressing and he needed to step back from the studios.
But this month the Back To The Future star returned to our screens on Apple TV+ in a new documentary which shows how his Parkinsons disease has affected his life after cutting short his time on screen.
In a publicity interview for STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie the retired actor spoke to American journalist Harry Forestell, who also lives with Parkinson’s.
"When I got diagnosed it turned nasty. It wasn't about fun anymore, it was about exiting from the situation," Fox said.
At first the actor turned to alcohol to try to mentally control the condition he had recently been diagnosed with, but after giving up drink reality hit, was "like having a knife fight in a dark closet.”
Fox continued: "Over the course of that seven years I got sober, we had more children, I grew fuller in my understanding of what it was that I was dealing with."
He went on to recall a conversation he had with a health specialist.
“The doctor said to me 'You don't win this, you lose,' " Fox said.
"I like to win, I don't like to waste my time with stuff, I like to go after it, and so that was the dilemma I faced. If I really learned from this, it was to learn how to lose well."
After accepting his Parkinson’s the actor launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000, which so far has raised a staggering $1.5 billion towards research for the illness.
"At the beginning when we first started [the foundation], people would say, 'Well, what are we doing?' And I'd say 'Purity of motive, purity of motive,' " Fox said.
He has been overwhelmed by the reaction STILL has had since it premiered in Canada earlier this year ahead of its AppleTV+ release.
Among his fans are his wife, Tracy Pollan and their four children.
"They love it — and not so much love it, that's the wrong way to put it. Another big word in our house, besides joy, is acceptance," Fox said.
"And so we learn to accept things, so if that's what I wanted to do, and they understood why it was important for me to do it, they accept it."
Fox hopes the film will raise awareness of Parkinson’s and give viewers a sympathetic understanding for those living with the condition.
"I'm just living beat by beat," Fox said. "And the easier I can make it for those around me, the better."
[ STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie is available to stream now on Apple TV+ ]
