Michael J. Fox is being transparent about his experience with Parkinson’s.
At the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival on Tuesday, the actor, 61, showed a screening of his documentary, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, and discussed his life since being diagnosed with the condition in 1991 and going public with it in 1998.
When questioned about how he “He said, “I didn’t have a choice,” adding, “This is it. I had to mobilize” people to care about Parkinson’s. I must contribute everything I have; this is not just talking. I show up and give it my all.”
He went on, “A benign type of abuse is a pity. I could wallow in self-pity, but I don’t have the time. Let’s do it and move on because there are lessons to be gained from this.”
Together with the film’s director Davis Guggenheim, Fox responded to queries about the picture and claimed that he wanted to give his fans more of his narrative.
He said, “My fans have very much given me my life. “I wanted to express my appreciation and time to these folks who have done so much for me. Hearing from each of you was wonderful.”
He continued, “Parkinson’s stinks, but it’s a great life, so thank you for it,” addressing Guggenheim directly.
He admitted that he didn’t regret continuing to work at his time of diagnosis. “Despite not wanting to commit suicide, you do what needs to be done. I then came to a standstill.”
The documentary “incorporates factual, archive, and scripted elements, presenting Fox’s amazing narrative in his own words,” according to the film’s logline.
Aside from his “never-before-seen private journey, including the years that followed his diagnosis with Parkinson’s,” the movie also provides a “account of Fox’s public life, full of nostalgic thrills and cinematic gloss,” according to the press release. However, Fox stated that the movie contains much more than just information about his health.
“I want to cover Parkinson’s but I don’t want to produce a movie about Parkinson’s, David stated early on. He produced a film about life, “Fox explained. He purposefully decided against producing a film about Parkinson’s.
The Back to the Future actor explained why he chose to announce his illness in a 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight.
It had been seven or eight years since my diagnosis, and at that point, “the paparazzi and other people would stand outside my apartment and heckle at me, asking me, ‘What’s wrong with you?'” Fox remembered. “I came out because I felt bad forcing my neighbors cope with this, and it was wonderful. It was wonderful.”
I was very surprised that people reacted the way they did, he continued. “I immediately recognized that as a fantastic opportunity since they replied with interest and a desire to discover a cure for the illness. I wasn’t given this opportunity to waste it.”
Fox established the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000 after disclosing he had Parkinson’s disease.
According to the foundation’s website, “The Michael J. Fox Foundation is committed to discovering a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to guaranteeing the development of improved medicines for individuals living with Parkinson’s today.