Michael J. Fox Reveals How Leonardo DiCaprio Inspired His Decision To Retire From Acting

Former actor Michael J. Fox has opened up about his decision to quit acting due to his struggles remembering his lines in movie roles.

Fox revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio's "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" inspired him to quit acting, noting that the decision "was peaceful."

Read on for more details.

Fox, 61, recently revealed to Empire that a Leonardo DiCaprio movie played a pivotal role in his decision to step away from acting.

For over a decade, Fox battled Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological disorder. Despite his persistent struggle with the condition, he continued to act in various television shows and films. However, the need to quit acting became inevitable when he struggled to remember his lines in "The Good Fight."

The "Family Ties" star was notably playing the role of an attorney with Parkinson's disease in the film and said, "That's when I thought of 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.'"

"There's a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio's character can't remember his lines anymore," Fox shared. "He goes back to his dressing room, and he's screaming at himself in the mirror. Just freaking insane."

He added, "I had this moment where I was looking in the mirror and thought, 'I cannot remember it anymore. Well, let's move on.'"

Fox said the decision to do so "was peaceful."

In an interview with Variety, the "Back to the Future" star opened up about the difficulty he faced as a child living in poverty. Fox spoke about his experiences growing up in a struggling family, as his parents lived paycheck to paycheck and had to resort to "dumpster diving for food."

He was raised in Vancouver, Canada, by his mother, Phyllis Fox, and his father, William Fox, whose salaries were insufficient to support their family as they struggled to make ends meet.

Despite his challenges, Fox enrolled in acting classes in school, where he started performing in school plays and quickly found out that he had a knack for it. He subsequently dropped out of school to pursue an acting career, which led him to move to Los Angeles. 

According to the Daily Mail, the "Teen Wolf" actor teased that great progress has been made in finding the cure to Parkinson's disease as he said it "is closer than it's ever been."

During a recent interview with Lorraine Kelly on "Lorraine," Fox said: "I feel it's [a cure] closer than it's ever been. I think we've found this biomarker which is huge, identifying the disease and therefore being able to treat it earlier. It was a gigantic breakthrough, we didn't expect to make it this soon. We were working on it for a long time, ten years ago we talked about it."

He added, In five years, they will be able to tell if you have it and if you're ever going to get it and how to treat it."

Parkinson's disease is an illness that affects the nervous system and causes stiffness, tremors, and difficulty with movement. It is a chronic and progressive disease, meaning that symptoms worsen over time.

Fox invites us into his world through the release of his new documentary "Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie." The beloved actor shares his personal story, shedding light on his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease, his unwavering resilience, and his remarkable contributions to the world.

The documentary explores Fox's life, capturing the challenges, triumphs, and transformative moments he has experienced since his Parkinson's diagnosis in 1991.

Through interviews with Fox himself, his loved ones, fellow actors, and medical experts, the documentary offers a comprehensive perspective on the impact of Parkinson's disease on his life. It explores how Fox navigates the complexities of the condition, from managing symptoms to adjusting his career goals and finding a new purpose in advocating for Parkinson's research and support.

"A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s, only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. The actor who is an incurable optimist is forced to confront an incurable disease," the synopsis reads.

The inspiring and eye-opening documentary is now available to stream on Apple TV+.