Michael J. Fox calls his battle with Parkinson’s a “gift.”

Retired actor and activist Michael J. Fox decided to look at the positive side of the impact of Parkinson’s disease on his life. In a poignant interview, Fox called the disease a “gift.”

The actor, who has had to endure a challenging health condition, recently said his foundation has made significant strides in Parkinson’s research to help identify and treat the disease more quickly.

Read on for more details.

“It’s the gift that keeps on buying”

According to the Daily Mailthe renowned actor and Parkinson’s advocate shared his in-depth perspective on his struggle in a recent interview with Waleed Aly on “The Project.”

The 61-year-old actor, often celebrated for his unwavering optimism and resilience in the face of adversity, has described his condition as a “gift” despite living with Parkinson’s disease for more than two decades.

Fox told Aly that she was “happy” with how her life was turning out after sacrificing so much to find a cure for the disease.

“I always say Parkinson’s is a gift, and people ask me, ‘How do you describe it as a gift?’ And I say, ‘The gift is the one that keeps getting lost, but it’s a gift,'” he told the host.

The “Family Ties” alum added, “I’m excited about how my life has turned out and I love the opportunity to be of service.”

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive neurological disease that primarily affects movement, with effects such as stiffness, tremors, and difficulty with balance and coordination.

Why did Michael J. Fox retire from acting?

In a recent revelation, he attributed his decision to retire from acting to the inspiration he received after watching a Leonardo DiCaprio film.

After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Fox bowed out to acting as she tried to keep her toe to toe.

“There’s a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character can’t remember his lines,” Fox said of a scene in DiCaprio’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

“She goes back to her dressing room and screams at herself in the mirror. It’s just crazy.” Fox added: “There was this moment where I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘I don’t remember her anymore. Well, let’s move on.”

Michael J. Fox had a rough childhood

Behind the glitz and glamor of her successful career lies a remarkable story of resilience and determination. During a conversation Species, Fox shared that he experienced poverty and resorted to unhealthy measures to feed himself as a teenager. He talked about his challenges, such as “cat diving” for food, noting that his family struggled to pay the bills and were all living paycheck to paycheck.

Amidst the struggles, he began acting in school plays and quickly learned that he was good at it. Fox eventually dropped out of school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a full-time acting career. The Emmy Award-winning actor got his breakthrough in 1982 on the TV show “Family Ties” and in 1985 starred in the famous movie “Back to the Future”.

Michael J. Fox presents his success in Parkinson’s research

Over the years, Fox has become an inspirational figure in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. The actor has devoted his energy and resources to raising awareness, funding research, and making significant strides in the study of Parkinson’s disease through the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

During a recent interview with Lorraine Kelly on “Lorraine,” Fox said, per Daily Mail. “I feel like it (a cure) is closer than ever. I think we’ve found this biomarker that’s huge, it identifies the disease and therefore can treat it earlier. It was a huge breakthrough; we didn’t expect it to happen so soon. We worked on it for a long time; we talked about it ten years ago.”

He added: “Five years from now they can tell if you have it and if you’ll ever get it and how to treat it.”