Michael J. Fox.Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty
Michael J. Foxis opening up about how Parkinson’s Disease continues to impact his acting career.
“When I did the spinoff fromThe Good Wife, which isThe Good Fight, I couldn’t remember the lines. I just had this blank, I couldn’t remember the lines,” he said.
Fox said his struggle to remember lines is something he did not experience as a young actor. He reflected on his time onFamily Tieswhich Fox starred on during its run from 1982 to 1989.
“I’d go, ‘I’m in. Mallory, get off the phone.’ And I knew it, like in an instant, and it continued to be that way for me,” Fox said on the podcast. “I have 70 pages of dialogue on a [Brian] De Palma movie, and knowing that a hugely expensive Steadicam shot depends on me knowing the lines — not a trickle of sweat on my brow.”
Fox starred in director Brian De Palma’s filmCasualties of WaralongsideSean Pennin 1989.
Michael J. Fox onFamily Ties.Everett
These days, he said, he knows his limitations and does not let it get him down.
“I can’t remember five pages of dialogue. I can’t do it,” he said. “So I go to the beach.”
In 2020, Fox spoke toPEOPLEabout his ongoing Parkinson’s symptoms, including tremors, rigidity and memory issues.
“My short-term memory is shot,” Fox said.
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Though memorization has become more difficult over time, Fox is dedicating his talents to another arena that he enjoys: writing.
“I’m down to this,” he said of writing becoming his primary creative outlet. “My guitar playing is no good. My sketching is no good anymore, my dancing never was good and acting is getting tougher to do. So it’s down to writing. Luckily, I really enjoy it.”
In November 2020, Fox released his fourth memoir,No Time Like the Future.
The actor was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, in 1991. After going public with his diagnosis in 1998, he continued acting, notably appearing onSpin Cityfrom 1996-2001 and later,The Good Wife.
source: people.com
