Michael J Fox recalls first sign he noticed of Parkinson's disease in heartbreaking new documentary
Michael J. Fox shares how he first noticed the signs of Parkinson's disease in the trailer for his new documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
The Back to the Future star reflects on what’s kept him active and fighting years after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“I’m a tough son of a b***h,” he says to the camera.
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In the trailer, which was released on Thursday (6 April), the 61-year-old shares how he first noticed the signs of what would be diagnosed as Parkinson's disease.
He recounted waking up one morning to find his pinky finger twitching uncontrollably, and described the finger as 'auto-animated.'
Fox also recalls a conversation with his wife, Tracy.
"I told Tracy the news. 'In sickness and in health,' I remember her whispering.
"No one outside of my family knew." he said.
The actor then talks about taking medication to 'hide' his condition. "But all those years of hiding was shaking me awake." Fox continued.
"To deny that part of me that wants to continue to go on and do things is to quit."
After his initial diagnosis in 1991 at age 29, he wouldn't reveal his condition publicly until 1998 and continued to act for the years in between.
In some behind-the-scenes footage, he is pictured doing stunts, dodging explosions and gunfire as he runs through the desert in a scene from Tim Burton's dark sci-fi comedy, Mars Attacks.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie was directed by Davis Guggenheim and premiered to great reviews at the Sundance Film Festival.
It incorporates documentary, archival and scripted elements to tell Fox’s story in his own words, recounting both his career and his 'never-before-seen private journey' with Parkinson’s disease.
“I was bigger than bubble gum,” the Stuart Little star says of his breakthrough into stardom in the 1980s.
Fox opens the trailer by answering a question from Guggenheim to explain the title of the film.
"What does it mean to be still?" asks the director.
'I wouldn't know, I was never still,' he admits.
To illustrate that, the shot then cuts to footage from multiple movies of Fox running for his life, as well as a skateboarding scene from Back To The Future before launching into a montage of Fox's numerous talk show, award ceremony and red carpet appearances to show how big of a star he'd become in Hollywood within a few years.
The film's synopsis reads: "With a mix of adventure and romance, comedy and drama, watching the film will feel like … well, like a Michael J. Fox movie."
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on May 12.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Michael J Fox
Amelia Jones