Michael J. Fox gives powerful speech as he receives honorary Oscar
Topics: Celebrity, Health, Michael J Fox
Ali Condon
Featured Image Credit: @djkevlar/Twitter
Topics: Celebrity, Health, Michael J Fox
Michael J. Fox accepted an honorary Oscar for his work on Parkinson's research at this weekend's 13th Annual Governors Ball.
The legendary actor was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 and quickly became the most famous advocate for finding a cure, founding the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000.
In 2020, the Back To The Future star announced he was retiring from acting due to the disease's progression.
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Parkinson's disease is a lifelong condition that causes parts of the brain to deteriorate over many years, according to the NHS.
Symptoms can include stiff and inflexible muscles, involuntary tremors and slow movement.
To date, Michael J. Fox's non-profit organisation has funded about $1.5 billion (£1.27 billion) of research.
As a result, he is now officially a recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which commends those 'whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.'
Michael received the award at this weekend's 13th Annual Governors Awards from Woody Harrelson, and was accompanied by his wife Tracy Pollen, his four children, and his Back To The Future co-star Christopher Lloyd.
Before delivering an emotional 13-minute speech, Michael was met with a standing ovation from the audience.
"You guys are making me shake, stop it," he joked.
The actor quickly rattled through his early life and career, from moving to the US from Canada to getting his big break on Family Ties and, subsequently, the Back To The Future trilogy.
"Somewhere in there, around 29, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's and I was told I only had ten years left to work," he recalled. "That was s**tty."
When he decided to go public with his health news, Michael shared: "The outpouring of support from the public at large, the beautiful reaction from all of my peers in the entertainment business, all of you, thank you, and the people that I worked with, was transformative."
Michael jokingly described Parkinson's as the 'gift that keeps on taking', before adding that it 'truly has been a gift' because of all that it opened him up to.
Noting that the hardest part was 'grappling with the certainty of the diagnosis and the uncertainty of the situation', he thanked his wife Tracy for making it clear 'that she was with me for the duration'.
Michael concluded his speech by looking at his trophy and admitting 'I cannot walk and carry this thing', before adding 'but I ask Tracy to once again carry the weight'.