Michael J Fox has said he may be at “the end of his acting career” due to the worsening symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
The Back to the Future star was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991, and went public with his diagnosis in 1998. While he has continued to act in the years since, he revealed in his new memoir that he can no longer memorise extensive dialogue or work for hours at a time.
“There is a time for everything, and my time of putting in a 12-hour workday, and memorising seven pages of dialogue, is best behind me,” Fox writes in No Time Like the Future.
“At least for now … I enter a second retirement,” he continues. “That could change, because everything changes. But if this is the end of my acting career, so be it.”
Fox added that he has recently noticed he is suffering from new symptoms of the disease, which include memory loss, delusions and dementia.
Despite his current condition, Fox writes that he was originally told by doctors in 1991 that he would be lucky to work for 10 more years due to his condition – a prediction that proved incorrect.
Since his diagnosis, Fox starred in the sitcom Spin City, voiced Stuart Little in the series of children’s movies, and appeared on shows including The Good Wife and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Fox this week (18 November) recalled being “starstruck” by Princess Diana when she attended the London premiere of Back to the Future in 1985.
