According to Michael J. Fox, Parkinson’s disease is getting worse

Michael J. Fox gets brutally honest about his battle with Parkinson’s disease.

In a new interview with him CBS Sunday Morning The actor revealed that the degenerative disease began to take its toll after 30 years of living with it to promote his upcoming Apple TV+ documentary, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s going to get harder,” Fox said. “It’s getting tougher. It gets tougher every day. But that’s how it is.”

Fox explained that her recent struggles made her think more about her own mortality. He said he was beginning to accept that the disease could cause a fatal accident at any time.

“Dropping and inhaling food, pneumonia — all these subtle ways to catch a person,” he said. “You don’t die of Parkinson’s disease, you die of Parkinson’s disease. So I thought about the death of this. I’m not going to be 80.”

Despite the adversity, the documentary contains many examples of Fox showing the sense of humor that made him a star. Fox said her ability to keep laughing has helped her maintain a relatively positive outlook on life.

“I know how hard it is for people,” she said of the disease. “I know how hard it is for me. But I have certain skills that allow me to deal with these things. And I note with gratitude that optimism is sustainable. If you find something to be grateful for, you can find something to look forward to.”

“Still” is the most definitive document yet of Fox’s career and his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The film, directed by “An Inconvenient Truth” helmer Davis Guggenheim, was a Sundance hit for its ability to blend honesty and nostalgia.

“At its most basic level, ‘Still’ follows the arc of Fox’s career, from a Canadian high school dropout to Hollywood’s biggest star, and how that changes when he learns he has Parkinson’s disease. Before the age of 30,” wrote Esther Zuckerman in her IndieWire review of the film. – Fox’s voice dominates the doc and is the only talking head that appears. Occasionally Guggenheim interjects to ask Fox a question about his mental or physical state, but mostly this is Fox’s story in Fox’s words.

“Still: The Michael J. Fox Movie” begins streaming Friday, May 12 on Apple TV+.

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