Michael J. Fox Makes Rare Appearance at the 2026 Actor Awards, Recalls 'Dumpster Diving' Before Finding 'Family Ties' Fame

Michael J. Fox was among the famous faces in the audience at the 2026 Actor Awards.

While his battle with Parkinson's disease has kept him largely out of the spotlight over the years, the Back to the Future star, 64, opted to participate in the show's annual "I Am an Actor" segment on Sunday, March 1.

"I left school and moved from Canada to L.A. to try and make it as an actor," he said as the crowd cheered. "A teacher of mine told me, Fox, you're not going to be cute forever. I didn't know what to say to that, so I said, 'Maybe just long enough, sir.'"

"After a few years of dumpster diving in L.A., I ended up on Family Ties, where I received the biggest gift of my career. I met my wife, the actor Tracy Pollan, who played Ellen, my girlfriend. And she gave me four gifts. Our kids, Schuyler, Aquinnah, Esmé and Sam."

"Sometimes I like to remind them, if it weren't for acting, they wouldn't be here," he quipped, before pointing to his son Sam and saying, "By the way, he's not an actor. He's just my date. I'm Michael J. Fox, and a dad, and I'm an actor."

The Emmy winner's appearance at the ceremony comes months after he opened about the struggles of living with Parkinson's, a neurologic movement disorder he was diagnosed with at age 29.

In an interview with The Times last fall, he described the disease as a "bully" and admitted that he sometimes thinks about death.

Fox confessed that he'd "like to just not wake up one day" when he goes, adding, "That’d be really cool. I don’t want it to be dramatic. I don’t want to trip over furniture, smash my head."

Fox, who often uses a wheelchair, also detailed how symptoms he experiences, including body tremors and muscle stiffness, have led to multiple injuries.

"In a three-year period, I broke my elbow, I broke my hand, I got a big infection in my hand and I almost lost my finger. It’s terrible," he recounted. "I had all these little bones broken and it got infected and they had to cut the bones out because the bones got infected. Broke my other shoulder, had it replaced. I broke my cheekbone."

Luckily, Fox has kids and wife of over 30 years to help him get through the hard times.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight in November 2025, the activist praised Pollan, 65, for being his "caregiver."

The Teen Wolf actor also recently shared a sweet tribute to Pollan on Instagram for Valentine's Day. "Life with you is a beach- be my valentine still and always. Love you! ❤️," he captioned a photo of them together.