I’m not kidding, when it was announced that Michael J. Fox would be returning to acting to play a role in Shrinking Season 3, I screamed. He’s one of my favorite actors, and in the past the show’s co-creator, Bill Lawrence, has spoken about how Fox has impacted the way Parkinson’s has been represented on the show. So, this is a very meaningful addition to the cast, and recently, Harrison Ford got candid about why it’s also been “essential.”
Over the course of Shrinking’s first two seasons, we’ve seen Ford’s character, Paul, learn how to live with his Parkinson’s, which has been impacting him more and more as the show goes on. In Season 3, it’s been revealed that Fox’s character will play a role in Paul’s life. When the Indiana Jones actor spoke to Variety about the Back to the Future star joining the ensemble, he noted just how impactful it’s been, explaining:
It’s been essential. Michael’s courage, his fortitude and his grace, more than anything else, is on full display. He’s very smart, very brave, noble, generous, passionate guy, and an example to all of us, whether we’re facing Parkinson’s or not. You cannot help but recognize how amazing it is to have such grace.
As I stated earlier, Bill Lawrence, who co-created Shrinking with Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein, was inspired by how Michael J. Fox has handled his Parkinson’s, and it has impacted how it’s represented in his show. He worked with the actor on Spin City, which was when Fox publicly announced he had Parkinson’s. And he told People that they wanted to represent living with this disease in “hopefully an inspiring and not sad or tragic way.”
Over the years, Fox’s tenacity and courage have been on full display, and the work he’s done to help others with Parkinson’s is remarkable. This journey is beautifully depicted in Still, by the way, which is an incredibly candid Apple TV+ documentary about the actor’s career and how his life has evolved and changed since his diagnosis.
Now, while we don’t know exactly who Fox will play on Shrinking, we know his character will have Parkinson’s and he’ll interact with Paul. To that point, Ford explained how his new co-star has inspired how he plays his character, saying:
So he gives me both a physical representation of the disease to inform myself with, but more than that, he allows me to believe that Paul could believe that he could be adequate to the challenge. The truth is that we can’t be fucking around with this just to make a joke or anything. Parkinson’s is not funny. And I want to get it right. It’s necessary to be correct with what we do in respect of the challenge that Parkinson’s represents, and that we don’t use it for its entertainment value.
The entire time Shrinking has been on, it’s been clear how much they care about representing Parkinson’s in a respectful and realistic yet optimistic way. Like Fox has for a long time now, Paul is working well into his diagnosis, and he’s learning to adapt to life in new ways while leaning on, trusting and loving the people around him. It’s honestly an uplifting story, and the way Ford plays it is both tear-jerking and heartwarming.
Now, I can’t wait to see how he interacts with Michael J. Fox in Season 3 of Shrinking, because I’m positive it will be moving, wonderful, and funny, of course. In the meantime, you can see Harrison Ford’s performance as Paul by streaming Seasons 1 and 2 of Shrinking with an Apple TV+ subscription.
