Michael J. Fox Says Returning to Acting After Parkinson's Has Prolonged His Life — and His Words Will Move You

Jul 29, 2026 by apost team

Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson's disease in 1991, when he was 29 years old and at the peak of his career. He spent seven years keeping it private before going public in 1998 — years in which he continued working, continued performing, continued doing everything the disease was quietly making harder. The disclosure was met with what he has described as "universal praise." The career he had feared it would end continued for more than two more decades.

Then, in 2020, after decades of managing symptoms that had made his work progressively more challenging, Fox officially announced his retirement. The speech difficulties that came with advancing Parkinson's had made consistent performance increasingly difficult. He stepped back. He focused on the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which he had founded in 2000 and which has since become the largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research in the world, having raised more than $2 billion.

And then, in 2025, he came back.

Fox, born June 9, 1961, joined the cast of "Shrinking" on Apple TV+ for its third season — the same show in which Harrison Ford plays a therapist living with Parkinson's disease. For Fox, the character offered something he had never had in 30 years of acting around his diagnosis: a role that did not require him to hide it. His character has Parkinson's. So does he. For the first time on a set, there was nothing to compensate for or manage or pretend away.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fox described what the return to acting has done for him. His words were among the most moving things he has said in years.

"It's really prolonged my life and made my life interesting in a way that I didn't think it would be to this point,"

Fox told The Hollywood Reporter. He was characteristically direct about his relationship with the disease. "I'm not retired from acting, but if I didn't act again, it would be for a very good reason. I let Parkinson's make decisions for me."

In a separate interview with USA Today, he had described the tradeoffs with equal clarity. "I just feel I have to. It's a tradeoff. I want to be around for everything." He added: "I want to be active at everything, keep working, keep my partnerships going, my good friends, and enjoy my time with my family. And it's all good; it's so much better than it could be."

What made the "Shrinking" role uniquely meaningful was something his longtime collaborator Bill Lawrence had built into the character. Fox told PEOPLE: "It was the first time ever I get to show up on-set, and I didn't have to worry about am I too tired or coughing or anything. I just do it. And you get through it."

Fox has been married to actress Tracy Pollan, born June 29, 1960, since 1988. They share four children: Sam, 37, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler, 30, and Esme, 23. The Michael J. Fox Foundation has raised more than $2 billion for Parkinson's research and is believed to be the largest private funder of Parkinson's research in the world.

At 65, Fox says acting prolonged his life. The disease has been making decisions for him for 35 years. He is still finding ways to outpace it.

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