Dean's A-List Interviews: Full interview with Michael J. Fox

Congratulations on this movie, man. This is just one of the most moving things that I've seen. And while I'm watching it, I'm admiring you, but also wondering why you decided to go so public with something that would just be easy to live whatever you have to live and not have to deal with all the public attention to it. This is a common misreading of it. I don't really smart people that still don't get it. But I had no choice. I had no choice to, I kept to see it for seven years and it was literally like, ripping out the seams.

I stuffed that bag with so much deception, it just exploded. I was doing Spence City and I was, my whole life I was like, I keep my left hand still. And I do whole scenes of the movie of the show. And you could ask me what the seam was about. I'd say, I don't know, but I get that damn soda in my hand and you go anywhere. So it became just very difficult. And then I also had to have a lot of people that were meeting me at the doors.

I came up to go to work in the morning and screaming, like, what about the Parkinson's? Like I had to run up to their baby with a truck or something. I don't know how it related to their life. I was really angry that I hadn't shared my diagnosis. And I didn't want to reward them, but I had to find some ways. So to live with it and before it and have a life. And then a more cool thing happened. I said, I reached out to Parkinson's organization because there was already a lot of him stuff out there.

One of the things that really delighted me and people surprised that it did was when members of the community said, great, this is great the microfox as Parkinson's. And I showed my life and say, how did he say that? I say, how did they not say that? This has happened so they'll get attention. I didn't tap so they'll get attention, but because this happening they'll get attention. And it's a good lesson for me and any good chance of understanding the disease on a level I hadn't tried to before because I was so afraid of it and I was running away from it. But to actually sit down and look at it and talk to researchers, talk to political fund managers and talk to people about what their goals were. And I wasn't completely satisfied that there was any purely goal related foundation organization. I mean, it was really terrific and they had probably just reached money on a predictive space or something.

But so I thought about it a lot and I just thought, well, we'll leave the show and I'm gonna create this foundation. And that is such a privilege that there's nothing else to do with that. And in terms of choices, it was a great opportunity to do what my mother passed away in September, my father passed away, but 20 years ago now. But they would have dug this. This is what they would have wanted me to do. Yeah, and raising $1.7 billion is amazing.

And the career that you had and have is pretty amazing. When you look back, are there projects, moments that you look back on as being ones that are most meaningful to you? I don't know anybody that doesn't get a big smile on their face when you start talking about back to the future at all. Well, back to the future was a real gift. And it was so great because it was gone for me. I lost it and I didn't even know I lost it. They'd come to my, I think Gary, Gober early on, Steven had comes in early on in the production of the film with it, Back to the Future. And he asked if I could be released to the film.

And no one talked to me, no one offered to me. It was just this thing that was hanging out there. And Gary said no, he couldn't because I was doing the show. And I can't understand that because he's even trying to get a hit showing there for a long time. And he finally found this kid who can tell a joke and put together with his best writers and had a hit show. And so I got that he didn't want to let that go. And how could he trust that? I wouldn't be able to.

I had a film career now, I'll see you later. So it was hard, it was difficult for him, but he finally, Steven came back to him after he'd shot for seven weeks and begged him. Said, it was fantastic actor, but he's just not goofy. And again, I've come to some strange places, but I'll do goofy. I'll give my best buy some, yeah, let's do it. So I did this book part of it once. And it was just, I don't know how I did it.

I don't know where I get the energy from. My mother was really concerned, she wanted me to quit. I said, I'm not quitting, I'll see what's going on. Not happening, I'll wake up and eat and relax. So, yeah, it was a great experience. And I was so hungry for it. And I was so, so enjoying, I was full of joy with the acting.

That it's just, it was a great blessing. So that would be the big thing. And other little moments, we talk about moments. There's a great thing in the film where the editor, Michael Hart, who's amazing, so gifted. And he cut the scene against it. And if people don't know, the movie uses clips from my career to form a narrative of my life. That's the smart way they do it.

And so there's a scene where Tracy's character and I from Bright Lights Big City are walking through, walking through the streets of the village. And it was shot by Gordon Williams. So, you know, it's gonna be good. It'll look good. And what we're doing in the scene, I realized I'm falling in love with it, right? That scene that's on TV, it was on TV, it was in the movie. And I was so blown away with that. That moment I'm falling in love with my wife.

And there it is. And other things, there's a scene with Sean Penn where he'd yell at me. And I remember, I had to set it in the film that I was gonna underplay everything. Because I mean, I was breaking when y'all, I mean, it was a fantastic kabuki. I think it was, it was fantastic. I know I know my answer to that. So I said to play under it.

So I'm playing under it. And it was kind of, you know what I'm all about. And I was, I was scared of it. So I was like, Michael, they're giving me the hard rap here. I gotta jump out of here. It's a real pleasure. Thank you so much for all you've given us and for all you do.

I've got just nothing but 10,000% admiration for you. Thanks so much, pal. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for coming to the movie.

entertainment, celebrity interviews