Beloved actor and star of theBack to the Futureseries,Michael J. Fox, has announced that he is retiring from the screen due to his health. Fox made the announcement in his second memoir, “No Time Like the Future”, in which the actor outlined that the work has become too much for him to bear, at least for now.
“There is a time for everything, and my time of putting in a twelve-hour workday, and memorizing seven pages of dialogue, is best behind me…At least for now … I enter a second retirement. That could change, because everything changes. But if this is theend of my acting career, so be it.”
Diagnosed with Parkinson’s diseasein 1991 at age 29, Fox semi-retired from acting in 2000 as the symptoms of the disease worsened. The actor recently revealed his ongoing struggles with his illness saying, “My short-term memory is shot. I always had a real proficiency for lines and memorization. And I had some extreme situations where the last couple of jobs I did were actually really word-heavy parts. I struggled during both of them.”
Despite this, Fox continues to do what he can in the industry he loves and has now found a passion behind the scenes with writing. “I’m down to this,” he said. “My guitar playing is no good. My sketching is no good anymore, my dancing never was good, and acting is getting tougher to do. So it’s down to writing. Luckily, I really enjoy it.”
Fox has built a wonderful legacy both on and off the screen, and has been an advocate for some time with regards to research and development towards finding a cure for Parkinsons and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000. For his hard work and dedication, Sweden’s Karolinska Institute awarded him an honorary doctorate on July 24, 2025 for his efforts in advocating for a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
After becoming a poster boy for movies in the 1980s, the star became a sitcom staple in the 90s thanks to roles in the likes ofSpin City. His hiatus from the screen did not last long, as Fox returned to the small screen scene with cameos in hit comedies such asScrubsandCurb Your Enthusiasm, as well as the likes ofBoston LegalandThe Good Wifeamong others.
Of course, Fox will always be best known asMarty McFlyin the seminalBack to the Futuretrilogy, a character which he has revived on multiple occasions outside of the franchise. Most recently, Fox appeared as Marty in the music video forLil Nas X’s Holidayin which he warns the rapper not to time travel to 2020. He also reunited with the rest of the cast for a Zoom get-together via Josh Gad’s YouTube channel.
Back to the Futureis, and always will be, considered to be one of the best movies of the 1980s and went on to spawn one of the greatest science fiction adventure franchises of all time. Aside from the dazzling special effects, and heart-pounding action sequences, this is mostly down the wonderful chemistry of the central cast, in particular the friendship between Fox’s Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd’s Doc Brown.
We wish Michael J. Fox all the best for the future and hope that we will one day see him on screen again. This comes to us from Fox’s new memoir, “No Time Like the Future”, which was excerpted bythe L.A Times.
