Before ‘Back to the Future’ and Parkinson’s Disease: What Michael J. Fox Looked Like in His Prime Years

As is often the case in the fate of an actor, everything in Michael’s life was decided by chance, or rather, even a whole chain (not always successful for Fox himself) of events that led him ultimately leads to success.

To begin with, he became interested in acting out of desperation, when his dreams of a sports career were finally destroyed. Born in Canada, Michael was fond of hockey, seriously loved this sport and tied his future to it, dreaming of throwing pucks into the goal to the roar of the stadium. But, alas, Michael’s height was 164 centimeters and there was no need to talk about prospects in this sport. Resigned to this twist of fate, Fox decided to try his hand at acting.

And, oh wonder! The height that kept him from becoming an NHL star became his set pass. Michael got his first role precisely because of his short stature and the fact that he always looked younger than his age – he was 15 when he was given the role of a character who, according to the scenario, was 10 years old boy. It was a role on the CBC series Leo and Me. And if he went to audition just to fill the void in his life after hockey failed, then after filming ended Michael was 100 sure % that he wanted to become an actor.

Fox decided to leave his native Canada and set out to conquer Hollywood. Like any budding aspiring actor, Michael soon became convinced that this “dream factory” can face the harshest reality. Of course, Fox was just one of those who suffered to get the role, and was not even distinguished by particularly spectacular external data, so the proposals did not rain down on him like from the horn of a bird. plenty.

Trying to hide his short stature, Fox gained weight, after which he had to lose weight again. There was never enough money to live in Los Angeles, the actor was in debt and had almost accepted his defeat and was ready to go home, when the long-awaited call finally rang.

Michael was tapped to play young Republican Alex P. Keaton on the television series Family Ties, which came out in 1982 and ran for seven seasons. The job was given to Fox, as Matthew Broderick, who had originally been cast in the role, was unable to film the series.

Participation in “Family Ties” was an acting breakthrough for Michael. Almost from the first episodes they started talking about him as almost the main star of the show. The show broke all viewing records, and Fox won three Emmys and received a Golden Globe during filming.

Thanks to the success of the series, Michael then received the main role in the science fiction film Back to the Future, which became the box office leader in 1985. Well, the role of Marty McFly, a teenager who falls into the past, brought the actor worldwide fame – it is with this image that we associate Fox today, although the last film in the trilogy was released in 1990.

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