Michael J Fox shares desire for a peaceful death ‘without drama’ after 35 years with Parkinson’s

Michael J. Fox shared his candid thoughts on death and the way he hopes to go after 35 years living with Parkinson’s.

The 65-year-old actor was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease in 1991 when he was 29 years old.

“There’s no timeline, there’s no series of stages that you go through — not in the same way that you would, say, with prostate cancer,” he told The Sunday Times about his diagnosis. “It’s much more mysterious and enigmatic.”

Fox — who is promoting his new memoir, Future Boy — went on to detail his desire for a peaceful death.

“There are not many people who have had Parkinson’s for 35 years,” Fox said. “I’d like to just not wake up one day. That’d be really cool. I don’t want it to be dramatic. I don’t want to trip over furniture, smash my head.”

With Parkinson’s, the brain becomes progressively damaged over many years. Physical symptoms include involuntary shaking of body parts (tremor), as well as slowed movement and other mobility issues.

Now, Fox says he takes it easy, noting that he “doesn’t walk much anymore.”

“I can walk, but it’s not pretty and it’s a bit dangerous. So I just roll that into my life, you know — no pun intended,” he told The Times.

During an interview with People last week, the Spin City star also opened up about his daily challenges while living with Parkinson’s.

“I wake up and get the message of what the day is gonna be like, and I try to adjust to it,” he said. “I keep getting new challenges physically, and I get through it.”

While Fox initially announced his retirement from acting in 2020, he has since appeared in the third season of the Apple TV+ comedy drama Shrinking. The program stars Harrison Ford as Dr. Paul Rhoades, who is living with Parkinson's.

In addition to his television return, Fox has also maintained an active public presence, including appearances at Glastonbury and various awards shows. He last spoke about his experience with Parkinson’s in November 2024 at the annual gathering of his Parkinson’s research foundation, the Michael J. Fox Foundation

He earlier told Entertainment Tonight that his outlook on the disease had changed over the years, noting that he doesn’t negatively view his condition.

“After 35 years or something since I’ve been diagnosed, this is just my life and I don’t think about it much,” he said.

“I’m thinking about what we’re going to do as a community to figure this out and find a cure — and short of a cure, [create] treatment centers that are really groundbreaking,” he added.