Michael J. Fox has been battling Parkinson’s disease for over three decades. Despite his strength and resilience, the 64-year-old actor recently opened up about his ongoing struggle and thoughts on mortality. Reflecting on his journey, he admitted that sometimes he wishes he could “just not wake up one day.”
Michael J. Fox shares Parkinson’s update in recent interview
Michael J. Fox is perhaps best known for his role in Back to the Future, which has remained a cult classic all these years. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease back in 1991, when the actor was only 29 years old. He has since battled the condition for over 30 years.
Currently 64, the actor recently spoke about his disease to The Sunday Times newspaper on Sunday, October 12, 2025. It seems like the actor has made peace with his condition and is currently reflecting on his mortality.
“There’s no timeline, there’s no series of stages that you go through — not in the same way that you would, say, with prostate cancer,” the actor explained in the interview, “It’s much more mysterious and enigmatic.” He added, reflecting on his mortality, “There are not many people who have had Parkinson’s for 35 years.”
He further shared what he would want at this point. “I’d like to just not wake up one day. That’d be really cool. I don’t want it to be dramatic. I don’t want to trip over furniture, smash my head,” he said.
He also divulged some details about his struggles with Parkinson’s over the years, many of which stem from his decline in motor skills. “It’s absolutely incredible the stuff I broke. In a three-year period, I broke my elbow, I broke my hand, I got a big infection in my hand and I almost lost my finger,” he elaborated, “It’s terrible. I had all these little bones broken and it got infected and they had to cut the bones out because the bones got infected.”
He concluded, “I take it easy now. I don’t walk that much anymore. I can walk, but it’s not pretty and it’s a bit dangerous. So I just roll that into my life, you know — no pun intended.”
Fox made his last major film appearance in See You Yesterday in 2019.
