Michael J. Fox tells new documentary how his Parkinson’s diagnosis drove him to alcoholism

Actor Michael J. Fox said his Parkinson’s diagnosis at the age of 29 led to alcoholism and that he had to take dopamine pills and wear accessories on his left hand to hide the incurable disease.

The Back to the Future actor, now 61, is gearing up to release his new documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which debuted at Sundance on Friday and is coming to Apple TV+ later this year.

Fox rose to fame for her role in Family Ties and later appeared in Back to the Future and Teen Wolf. However, the actor said none of that mattered as he was shocked by the diagnosis at the height of his fame.

“I was the Prince of Hollywood,” he said, according to the New York Post. When the doctor told him that he had been diagnosed, he said, ‘You know who you’re talking to, right? I’m not supposed to understand this.

‘do you think [life’s] made of brick and rock. But is not. It is made of paper and feathers. It is an illusion.

While taking part in a Q&A after the premiere, the actor said that he “loved my life” despite the difficulties. He let his sickness show as he sat on the stage and his hand trembled against the chair. When Fox was diagnosed at age 29, he spent seven years hiding the disease

After receiving his Parkinson’s diagnosis, he “drank to dissociate” and took dopamine pills to ease the symptoms.

‘He was definitely an alcoholic. But I haven’t had a drink in 30 years,’ he said.

Fox discovered he had the disease after waking up from a night of drinking to find his little finger twitching in 1990. After it wouldn’t stop, he went to a neurologist in 1991 and was diagnosed with the disease.

She would continue to hide the disease for seven years by wearing accessories on her left hand.

In the film, fans will see the actor, who has a net worth of $65 million, work with a trainer to help him build strength, walk the streets of Manhattan and repeatedly fall.

Fox rose to fame through her roles in Back to the Future (pictured), Family Ties, and Teen Wolf

“A self-abuse fest,” he joked about the film. If you have Parkinson’s, you bump into things.

Deadline’s Pete Hammond wrote that the documentary has “the spirit of the kind of ’80s movies that helped make Fox a huge star on both the big and small screen.” According to the awards columnist, the film explores Michael’s life from when he grew up in Canada until he left school at 17 to pursue a career in Hollywood.

“The star here, as always, is Fox himself, battling the intense effects of the Parkinson’s disease he has had since he was diagnosed at 29, but telling his story with success and enthusiasm, a single talking head shot. , directly to the camera. ‘

Despite the difficulties of the disease, the actor said in the question and answer session that he has loved his life.

‘I love my family, I love what I do, I love that people react to what I do. I know that I can be an example for other people and help them deal with their problems without being asked without me [to] put my strength on them.

“It’s an amazing life and I’m enjoying it,” he said during a question-and-answer session after the Sundance premiere.

It was certainly a family affair, as the actor and his wife, Tracy Pollan, were joined by three of their four children: Sam Michael Fox, Schuyler Frances Fox, and Aquinnah Kathleen Fox.

The actor retired from his profession in 2020 after a career resurgence in the early 2000s with Good Fight and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He began his career by dropping out of Canadian high school and moving to Hollywood at age 16.

He is now writing books about his experience and funding Parkinson’s research through his Michael J. Fox Foundation.

“People express to me that I make them feel better and do things that they normally wouldn’t,” he said. That is a great responsibility.