I believe that many people, like me, have a new understanding of life in 2020.
This is probably even more so for michael J. Fox, the cover character of This month's People weekly magazine and the long-lost actor Michael J. Fox.
Friends who like science fiction movies must be familiar with him, and before I wrote about Claudia Wells, the heroine of "Back to the Future", she is a very moist clothing store lady after leaving the circle.
Many people also know that Michael suffered from Parkinson's disease at a very young age, but few people know that he lost one of the most basic and valuable skills as an actor in the decades of battling the disease: memory.
Fast forward 29 years, and his inspirational story has become very specific in this interview, and it is even more lamentable about his great willpower.
Michael Fox was born in 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to a police officer father and an actor mother.
Because of his father's career, the family moved from city to city, eventually settling in Burnaby, Metro Vancouver, when his father retired in 1971.
Michael began starring in Canadian tv dramas at the age of 15, and at the age of 18, he decided to go south to Hollywood to develop his career.
When he registered with the Screen Actors Guild, Michael found that his name had been duplicated, so he added a middle name "J" to his favorite late actor Michael J. Pollard.
At first, he once returned to Vancouver to wait for work, but soon returned to Hollywood again, starring in the sitcom "Family Ties", which was very meaningful to his career, the original protagonist was the hippy parents, but after only four episodes, Michael Fox's popularity skyrocketed, and the screenwriter continued to add drama to him. At its peak, one-third of U.S. households watched it at the same time each week, and Michael won a prime-time Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for three consecutive years.
Brandon Tartikoff, one of the producers of "Bond of Affection", originally did not look favorably on this short boy who was only 163 in height, and even tried to change the role in the middle, after which Michael gave the producer a special gift - a custom lunch box that read: "Dear Brandon, you can put yourself in!" The lunch box was on the producer's desk until retirement.
The barriers between the big and small screens were also broken by this small man, and from "Family Bond" to "Back to the Future", Michael's career soared. At that time, it was already the most well-known teen idol, shooting comedy during the day for two consecutive months, rushing to the movie set after work at six o'clock and shooting until 2:30 a.m.
The film won eight consecutive weeks of local titles and critical acclaim, eventually grossing $381.11 million worldwide, with two successful sequels.
Without a sci-fi-wrapped shell, he is also a male protagonist who is alone. "The Secret of My Success" grossed $110 million worldwide.
Fate played a joke at this time, and in 1991, Michael J. Fox, who was not yet 30 years old, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a complex disease that degenerates from a long-term central nervous disorder.
After the diagnosis, his condition was not optimistic at first, and the doctor even thought that he could work for up to 10 years, but he never stopped working.
In 1996, he also starred in the film The Frighteners directed by Peter Jackson, which received critical acclaim.
But behind the desperate work, for 7 years, Michael did not dare to face this cruel fact, once alleviated depression through alcoholism, and finally he made a wise choice, quit drugs, began serious treatment, and in 1998 he bravely disclosed his condition.
"I chose not to fight myself, and when I shared my story, I received thousands of people who were also plagued by Parkinson's disease, who shared their pain, insecurities, their anxieties, and they gave me encouragement, courage, and hope."
After "Bond of Affection," Michael starred in Spin City, which aired from 1996 to 2002, and he won another Emmy Award.
But by the time of the third season, the side effects of Parkinson's disease had seriously interfered with his performance, and in the fourth season he had to withdraw painfully, the actor Charlie was replaced by Charlie Sheen, and Michael retired to the background to become one of the producers and continue to receive treatment.
"I've always been proud of my line skills and memory, but because of this disease, my short-term memory has become very poor, and the works in recent years have been word intensive, and to be honest, I struggled very much [when I was performing]."
On the other hand, because Parkinson's causes uncontrollable trembling and stiffness of his limbs, in order to allow himself to perform normally, he spends a lot of time training his tongue by shouting tongue twisters to improve pronunciation.
This interview shows the impact of Parkinson's disease on his body language
I can't remember it, I can't say it clearly, but it was the most proud professional skill he had at his fingertips, and this feeling was too painful.
Not only is he actively receiving treatment and seeking the most advanced treatment methods, Michael founded Michael M. The J. Fox Foundation, which has raised more than $9 million in research funding, is now the world's largest nonprofit funder for Parkinson's disease research.
Ali, a boxer who also suffers from Parkinson's disease, was also very supportive of Michael during his lifetime.
Michael's love story is also sweet, when he was a teenager filming "Family Ties", he fell in love with his girlfriend "Ellen" and actress Tracy Pollan, and officially married in 1988: the second year the eldest son Sam was born, in 1995 the twin daughters were born, and now the youngest daughter Esmé is also 19 years old.
He and his family settled primarily in Manhattan and also had a house on Long Island. Michael, who will turn 60 next June, now leaves most of his time to his family, saying: "After the darkest hours, my gratitude has deepened. While the last few years have been trickier than ever, I've had incredible everything and my life has always been rich and wonderful. ”
It's their Manhattan home, simple and generous
Whether he can perform again is still a question mark, but he is very optimistic: "I can't play the guitar well, I can't draw well, I can't dance, the performance is getting harder and harder, I'm left with writing, fortunately, I really like it." 」 ”
His fourth memoir was released this month, and this man who didn't admit defeat was ah.
In 2018, a benign tumor on Fox's spine grew rapidly, causing severe pain throughout the body. Although the operation was successful, it seriously affected his ability to walk, so he resumed the 4-month rehabilitation process.
The toddlers of infancy became the last lesson of old age. Not long after the worst, he fell badly again. Fate's repeated toys plunged him into deep despair: "This is definitely the darkest moment of my life." ”
As his body gets better again, Fox gives himself a constant dose of mindfulness, telling People Weekly: "Accept that this has happened, you accept it as it is, but that doesn't mean you can't make an effort to change, nor does it mean you have to treat it as a punishment or repentance for yourself." When you can get away with it, even if there is not much time left, you can move on. ”
Acting is still his beloved job, and even though his body language has been restricted, he still doesn't give up performing with his own voice.
The favorite is his return to the screen of the legal drama "The Proud Wife", without this hate-itching lawyer character Louis Canning, the story of hit worker Alicia Florrick does not know how much more bland!
Parkinson's disease, which is an irreversible disease that occurs more often in the elderly, will only get worse as he ages, which means that the time left for his favorite acting career is less and less visible to the naked eye and within reach. But he didn't give up: "The pain is only temporary, but the film is eternal." ”
The life that began to count down from the age of 29, now lives such a wonderful life, which is a respectable life.
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