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‘I’m Not Going to Be 80’ – Michael J. Fox on struggling with Parkinson’s disease

The Back to the Future star is being featured in a new documentary on his life, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Updated 3 years ago · Published on 30 Apr 2023 10:00AM

‘I’m Not Going to Be 80’ – Michael J. Fox on struggling with Parkinson’s disease
MIchael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 29 and has been an advocate for research on it ever since. – CBS Sunday Morning screengrab, April 30, 2023

MICHAEL J. Fox, the star of the beloved Back to the Future movies, who has been living with Parkinson’s disease for more than 30 years, has shared details on where he stands with the illness. 

The 61-year-old actor is the subject of a new documentary on his life, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, and recently spoke to Jane Pauley for a CBS Sunday Morning interview. Preview clips have been released where Fox talks about his current struggles. 

“It's banging at the door,” he said. “I'm not gonna' lie, it's gettin' hard. It's gettin' harder. It's gettin' tougher. Every day it's tougher. But, but, that's, that's the way it is. I mean, you know, who do I see about that?”

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 29, discusses having spinal surgery on a benign tumour and how the procedure impacted his walking, which has led him to fall and suffer numerous injuries.

“[I] broke this arm, and I broke this arm, I broke this elbow. I broke my face. I broke my hand,” he says in the interview.

“You don’t die from Parkinson’s; you die with Parkinson’s. So I’ve been thinking of the mortality of it. I’m not going to be 80. I’m not going to 80.”

On May 12, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, directed by Davis Guggenheim will release on Apple TV+. It celebrates and documents Fox’s life from teen star to Parkinson’s advocate, through interviews, photos and archival footage.

Back in January, Fox told The Hollywood Reporter that he didn’t want any limits on what Guggenheim included in the documentary. 

“It’s a movie about my life, and if we’re going to be real about it, let the filmmakers have access to that.” – The Vibes, April 30, 2023

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