Why Michael J. Fox returned to acting after retiring

Michael J. Fox is talking about why he came back to acting, even though Parkinson's disease has made it harder for him to remember his lines. 

The 65-year-old actor, who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's at age 29, said he returned sooner than planned because his new role on Shrinking let him show up and just be himself on set.

Fox first stepped away from acting in 2000, two years after going public with his diagnosis. He returned briefly for small guest roles on Scrubs and The Good Wife before stepping back again in 2020. 

Speaking with People, Fox explained that memorising lines had become a new challenge, and he felt the days of long, 12-hour workdays were behind him.

Fox joined the Apple TV+ show Shrinking for its third season earlier this year. The series was created by his longtime friend Bill Lawrence, and Fox said he appreciates being able to "use how I feel on any given day and channel it into the scene."

On the show, he plays Gerry, who forms a friendship with Harrison Ford's character, a doctor also dealing with Parkinson's.

Fox earned an Emmy nomination for his role, though the award ultimately went to the late Rob Reiner.

Fox was originally diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991 while filming Doc Hollywood, after noticing a sore shoulder. He didn't share his diagnosis publicly until 1998. 

He had also worked with Lawrence years earlier on Spin City, leaving that show in 2000 as his symptoms worsened.

Since largely retiring from acting, Fox has focused on spending time with his family and running The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which funds research toward finding a cure for Parkinson's disease.