Michael J. Fox is one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the 20th century. Starring in the Back to the Future trilogy and other great films such as Teen Wolf or The Frighteners, the actor was one of the industry’s great promises… but his Parkinson’s disease struck and he had to leave the screen.
Now, in a documentary for Apple TV+ titled Still: A Michael J. Fox, the actor has opened up about his career and reflected on his roles, his fame and, of course, his illness. The actor even goes so far as to throw out such harsh statements for his fans as “It gets harder every day. You don’t die of Parkinson’s, you die with Parkinson’s. I’ve been thinking about mortality, I’m not going to make it to eighty”.
Farewell to the career of Michael J. Fox
However, the documentary has also served for the actor to explore the truth about his retirement. While Parkinson’s has been largely to blame for him stepping away from big roles, he remained on television in series like The Good Wife or See You Yesterday… until in 2019 he decided to hang up his boots altogether.
But why did he make this decision four years ago? Michael J. Fox explains it in the documentary, and the culprit is none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. Or, well, Quentin Tarantino. Or a bit of both. Anyway, the thing is that the actor was watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and saw how the main character is unable to remember his lines of dialogue, so he goes to the dressing room to insult himself in the mirror. This is how the actor reacted to this scene:
“I had this moment where I was looking at myself in the mirror and I thought ‘I can’t remember anymore. Well, time to move on to something else.’ It was quiet”.
So, without drama but leaving us with the emptiness of one of the actors who have most marked modern cinema, Michael J. Fox decided to step aside and continue enjoying life. If you want to see how, the best thing to do is to watch his fabulous documentary on Apple TV+.
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