Michael J. Fox shares fundamental difference between being famous in 80s vs now

Michael J. Fox discusses his observations on the evolution of Hollywood throughout the years.

The Emmy-winning actor, who first gained notoriety in the 1980s for his parts in Palmerstown U.S.A., Night Court, Family Ties, and Back to the Future, recently spoke with People magazine and made a comparison between the entertainment world today and when he first started.

“There’s an expression I referred to when they gave me an honorary Academy Award — somebody said to me the day before, they were talking about getting this award and being famous and they said ‘You’re ‘80s famous,’” Fox recalled. “I thought, wow, that’s cool. ‘80s famous. Right, we were different.”

He added, “We were tougher. We didn’t have social media, we didn’t have any of that crap. We were just famous. Left to our own resources. And it was an amazing time.”

The Spin City star was subsequently questioned about if he believed that gaining fame in the past was "harder" than it is now. “Well, you had to be talented. That helped,” he said in response.

“We used to bust our a**, our acting muscles and watch other actors and sit around with other actors and talk about acting and talk about it,” Fox continued. 

“And now you’ve got people who just go like, who’s your sweater? What’s your sweater you’re wearing? And what’s that dance step? And you’re the most famous person in the world.”