Michael J. Fox’s Biggest ‘Still’ Documentary Revelations: His Family Life, Past Substance Abuse and Battle With Parkinson’s Disease

Credit: Courtesy of Apple TV+/YouTube

Michael J. Fox’s Biggest ‘Still' Documentary Revelations: His Family Life, Past Substance Abuse and Battle With Parkinson’s Disease

The importance of stillness. As Michael J. Fox reflects on his enormously successful career and his 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, the Back to the Future star finds crucial moments of quiet contemplation in his new documentary, Still. The Apple TV+ film, which premiered on the streaming service on Friday, May 12, features candid interviews with the Spin City alum, 61, as he reflects on his superstardom life’s curveballs and how his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease at age 29 has impacted his life — and the world at large. Interspersed with archival footage, personal moments at home with his family — Fox shares four adult children with wife Tracy Pollan — and crucial time spent with his physical therapist and doctor, the Teen Wolf star holds nothing back while showing the full scope of his day-to-day life while reflecting on his onscreen stardom. After growing up in Canada — being “stuffed into lockers” due to his small stature — it was Fox’s small stature and boyish good looks that lead to his Hollywood stardom, which kicked off with his breakout role as Alex P. Keaton on the ‘80s sitcom Family Ties and later as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future franchise. Recalling his rise to stardom, Fox remembers being on the cover of every magazine, including Us Weekly, with a jam-packed schedule and an on-set love. After Pollan portrayed his love interest on Family Ties in 1985, the pair tied the knot three years later, going on to welcome four children. [jwplayer MtPAlxuG-zhNYySv2] At the peak of his career, however, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991, a devastating blow that left him lost and turning to alcohol for comfort before getting sober and going public with the illness seven years later. Per the Michael J. Fox Foundation website, “Parkinson’s disease (PD) occurs when brain cells that make dopamine, a chemical that coordinates movement, stop working or die. Because PD can cause tremor, slowness, stiffness, and walking and balance problems, it is called a ‘movement disorder.’” However, it is this "movement disorder" that led Fox to embrace a period of "stillness" in his own life. “The thing about motion with me is that I’ve always been moving. Maybe that’s because I’m small. I’ve always been moving and I’ve always counted on movement to not only express myself as I propelled from place to place, but to be who I am,” Fox explains at the conclusion of the documentary. “But the thing that I learned is that I couldn’t be still in my life. I couldn’t be present in my life,” he shares. “Until I found this — this thing that happened to me that made me present in every moment of my life.” Keep scrolling for the most powerful revelations from Fox’s Still documentary:

Credit: Courtesy of Apple TV+/YouTube

Michael J. Fox’s Biggest ‘Still' Documentary Revelations: His Family Life, Past Substance Abuse and Battle With Parkinson’s Disease

The importance of stillness. As Michael J. Fox reflects on his enormously successful career and his 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, the Back to the Future star finds crucial moments of quiet contemplation in his new documentary, Still. The Apple TV+ film, which premiered on the streaming service on Friday, May 12, features candid interviews with the Spin City alum, 61, as he reflects on his superstardom life’s curveballs and how his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease at age 29 has impacted his life — and the world at large. Interspersed with archival footage, personal moments at home with his family — Fox shares four adult children with wife Tracy Pollan — and crucial time spent with his physical therapist and doctor, the Teen Wolf star holds nothing back while showing the full scope of his day-to-day life while reflecting on his onscreen stardom. After growing up in Canada — being “stuffed into lockers” due to his small stature — it was Fox’s small stature and boyish good looks that lead to his Hollywood stardom, which kicked off with his breakout role as Alex P. Keaton on the ‘80s sitcom Family Ties and later as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future franchise. Recalling his rise to stardom, Fox remembers being on the cover of every magazine, including Us Weekly, with a jam-packed schedule and an on-set love. After Pollan portrayed his love interest on Family Ties in 1985, the pair tied the knot three years later, going on to welcome four children. [jwplayer MtPAlxuG-zhNYySv2] At the peak of his career, however, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991, a devastating blow that left him lost and turning to alcohol for comfort before getting sober and going public with the illness seven years later. Per the Michael J. Fox Foundation website, “Parkinson’s disease (PD) occurs when brain cells that make dopamine, a chemical that coordinates movement, stop working or die. Because PD can cause tremor, slowness, stiffness, and walking and balance problems, it is called a ‘movement disorder.’” However, it is this "movement disorder" that led Fox to embrace a period of "stillness" in his own life. “The thing about motion with me is that I’ve always been moving. Maybe that’s because I’m small. I’ve always been moving and I’ve always counted on movement to not only express myself as I propelled from place to place, but to be who I am,” Fox explains at the conclusion of the documentary. “But the thing that I learned is that I couldn’t be still in my life. I couldn’t be present in my life,” he shares. “Until I found this — this thing that happened to me that made me present in every moment of my life.” Keep scrolling for the most powerful revelations from Fox’s Still documentary:

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Working on ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Family Ties’

While at the height of his Family Ties fame in the early ‘80s, Fox began shooting Back to the Future — a grueling schedule that “swallowed me whole,” Fox recalls in a voiceover. “A Teamster driver would pick me up at 9:30 a.m. and drive me to Paramount, where I would spend the day shooting Family Ties. Then at 6, another Teamster would shuttle me to [film Back to the Future] at whatever far-flung location we were based at that evening … [where] I would work on the film until just before sunrise.”

He remembers “experienc[ing] confusion as to what set I was on and who I was in the first place” to the point where he wondered, “How could any of this s—t be any good?”

Back to the Future became the highest-grossing film of 1985 and catapulted Fox to even greater heights of fame as a bonafide movie star. The film has since gone on to become a pop culture staple and one of the most beloved franchises in history.

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How Michael J. Fox Fell in Love With His Wife

Pollan and Fox met on the set of Family Ties in the mid-‘80s. While she was playing his love interest, the Homeward Bound voice actor couldn’t resist poking fun at her garlic breath. Pollan, for her part, had no problem hitting back at Fox for the obnoxious remark.

“That was mean and rude and you are a complete and total f—king asshole,” Fox recalls his future wife telling him, explaining he was taken aback by her response since “nobody talked to me that way” due to his superstar status.

“I was a bit of a d—k,” he adds. “She was joking, but I didn’t get it because no one would ever joke with me like that. I was never the butt of any jokes.” Fox remembers: “In that moment, I fell in love with her.”

It’s a love that they still share, multiple decades, four children and numerous health woes later. When asked to describe Pollan in one word, Fox pauses to think for a moment. “Clarity,” he responds.

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Parkinson’s Diagnosis at Age 29

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991. The diagnosis left the Stuart Little voice actor — who was then 29 years old — in disbelief, as it is typically diagnosed in older patients. In attempting to deal with the devastating news, Fox turned to alcohol to cope — and tried to hide his symptoms on set the best he could, choosing not to share his diagnosis with the world until seven years later.

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Family Time With 4 Kids

Pollan became pregnant with her and Fox’s first child several months after tying the knot. She gave birth to their eldest, son Sam, in 1989. Six years later, in 1995, they welcomed twin daughters, Aquinnah and Schuyler, completing their family in 2001 with the arrival of their youngest, daughter Esmé.

“When I’m with my family, there’s no sentimental line with them. There’s no, ‘Poor baby. Oh, I feel your pain. I feel so bad for you,’” Fox explains. “That would be the worst thing they could do to me.” Instead, there’s a lot of love, a lot of togetherness and a lot of razzing, especially over Fox’s bad habit of being slow to respond to text messages.

One of his daughters recalls, "About a week after one of my ‘Love you so much, hope you’re OK’ [texts], it’s this, like, really nice, but just so random [response]," she laughs, getting to the punchline as the family cracks up: "He said, ‘I hope you are happy with all your decisions.'"

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Turning to Alcohol to Fight His Demons

After his Parkinson’s diagnosis, “I drank to disassociate,” Fox shares, classifying himself as “definitely” an alcoholic — though he proudly states he hasn’t “had a drink in 30 years.”

“I was sullen and angry,” Fox recalls, remembering one specific incident that left him unmoored. “There was one thing in a store. This guy stepped in front of me. And I said, ‘Excuse me, what am I, f—king invisible?’” he says. “And he goes, ‘Yeah, you’re invisible.’ And I grabbed his shirt, and I said, ‘F—k you, man. I’ll take you outside and take your head off. I’d love nothing more today than to take your head off.’”

The “core” of his alcoholism, Fox explains, was “fear.”

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The Daily Effects of Parkinson’s

“Every tremor is like a seismic jolt,” Fox explains, adding that the disease causes him to get “frozen physically” and “frozen facially.” Some Parkinson’s patients, like Fox, display a “Parkinsonian mask” in which he struggles to “smile” or “show expression,” he explains.

While Parkinson’s itself is not fatal, Fox knows that it is crucial that he takes care of himself to be able to be as healthy as he can as the disease progresses over time. “I love my mind and I love the place it takes me,” he shares. “And I don’t want to get that cut short.”

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Fox’s Fight Against Parkinson’s Changed Lives — Including His Own

Fox’s impact on the disease is impossible to understate. His Michael J. Fox Foundation has raised billions of dollars for research and treatments for the debilitating disease. For the Emmy winner, however, being such a prominent figure who is so candid about his battles can make it difficult for him to just be himself.

“This whole Michael J. Fox thing … People express to me that I make them feel better and make them do things they might not otherwise do,” he shares with his personal trainer. “That’s the most powerful thing. It’s a huge responsibility … I don’t want to f—k it up.” Fox’s trainer, for his part, recognizes the actor’s struggle — and gives him permission to just be regular “Mike Fox” and not his celebrity persona.

“It’s OK not to be Michael J. Fox sometimes,” he tells the Canada native.

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Looking Toward the Future

After coming forward with his diagnosis in 1998, "some people would view the news of my Parkinson’s as an ending,” Fox recalls in a voiceover. “But I was starting to sense it was really a beginning.” While trying to bury his feelings in the years following his diagnosis, today, “I can look at myself and I say, ‘I have Parkinson’s. So, how do I wanna live with that?’” Fox shares. “But if I never get past the ‘I have Parkinson’s’ part, if I never get past the part where I wake up in the morning and I go, ‘Yeah, that’s real, that’s happening.’ Then I can’t get past it.”