Notable actor Michael J. Fox reflects back on his career and the people who have supported him through it.
Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE for the magazine’s 50th anniversary, the actor mentioned his late parents, Phyllis and William Nelson Fox, as being the most supportive people during his career and the moments that he wishes they could have seen.
“I would love for them to see all this stuff now, with the Academy Award and the BAFTAs,” he says, trying to remember the proud moment at the most recent British film awards, where he received a standing ovation before presenting the best film nominees earlier this year, including from a royal audience member, who is none other than Prince William.
Fox further said, “My mother would freak out that the future king of England stood up for me. My mother would just go out of her mind,” His mother, Phyllis, died in September 2022 at age 92, while William died in 1990.
Michael J. Fox talks about receiving a standing ovation from Prince William
“If you’re a 22-year-old kid from Burnaby Eastburn, which, if you know Burnaby, you know Eastburn is the roughest part.” Fox shared this with PEOPLE, adding, “I said that to a friend of mine the other day, I sent him a text. Because he sent me a text about the standing ‘O’ at the BAFTAs and about Prince William. And I said, ‘Who would have thought? East Burnaby street rat and a standing ovation from the future king of England.'”
Fox went on to describe the overwhelming feeling of receiving the standing ovation, recalling a moment from the London premiere of Back to the Future in December 1985 when he sat next to Princess Diana.
“It all got so crazy,” Fox reflects on the meeting. “There’s nothing I could think of that wouldn’t happen.”
Recalling the royal premiere of Back to the Future, Fox shared the surreal experience of sitting next to Princess Diana, realizing, “I was like a fake yawn and an arm stretch away from being on a date with her. That one, and just moments like that, were so surreal.”
What is Michael J. Fox known for?
Michael J. Fox is a notable film producer and activist with a film and television career spanning from the 1970s to 2020. He rose to fame after he played the roles of Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy and Alex P.
Furthermore, the actor was known as the teen idol back in his early days as he started working on Family Ties, as well as for his acting in the popular 2000’s show Teen Wolf and Back to the Future.
In the year 1991, at age 29, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, However, he shared the news with the public only in 1998. Subsequently, in 2000, to help advance scientific progress toward a cure for Parkinson’s disease, he set up the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. He returned to full-time acting in 2013 with his role as Mike Henry in NBC’s The Michael J. Fox Show, a show about a man living an ordinary life with Parkinson’s.
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