Michael J Fox updates fans on the ‘challenges’ of Parkinson’s
9 October 2025, 11:19
The Back to the Future actor was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease when he was 29 years old.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Michael J Fox has given an update on his life with Parkinson’s disease.
The Back to the Future star, who has been living with the neurodegenerative condition for over 30 years, shared an insight into his Parkinson’s experience in an interview with People.
- Michael J Fox receives emotional standing ovation at BAFTAs as he presents Best Film to Oppenheimer
- Michael J Fox shares secret to loving 35-year marriage with wife Tracy Pollan
- Why Coldplay's Glastonbury duet with Michael J Fox was 40 years in the making
“I wake up and get the message of what the day is gonna be like, and I try and adjust to it,” the 65-year-old shared, referring to how his day-to-day experience with the condition can differ.
“I keep getting new challenges physically, and I get through it,” he added. “I roll around in a wheelchair a lot, and it took some getting used to.”
Parkinson’s is a non-fatal degenerative condition caused by a loss of nerve cells in the brain, which gets progressively more damaged over the years.
Though people who suffer from the condition are usually diagnosed in later life, some people (such as Michael) begin experiencing symptoms in their youth.
- Cast of Back to The Future now: Where are the stars from the 1985 film?
- Michael J Fox celebrates 35 years of marriage with emotional tribute to wife Tracy Pollan
- Michael J Fox opens up about Parkinson's in emotional first trailer for 'Still' documentary
Symptoms of the disease include involuntary shaking, slowed movement, and muscle stiffness which makes it more difficult to move around and also to emote.
These symptoms usually start off as mild, and with time increase in their severity.
But while there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease at the moment, advances in treatment mean resources are available for those who are diagnosed to help maintain quality of life and adapt to the limitations put on their speech or mobility.
Michael’s outlook on his condition is a positive one. “You take the good, and you seize it,” he shares.
This year, the actor has cowritten a memoir – Future Boy – in time for Back to the Future’s 40th anniversary, and returned to acting (despite retiring owing to his health in 2020) for a guest arc in Apple TV+’s Shrinking.
“If you put your mind to it, you can do anything,” he paraphrases from Back to the Future.
Michael added the last year had been “really positive, really energising,” while joking about how this is now the second time he’s quit a retirement he took because of the disease.
