About
"I just knew that was my part. I knew. I got it; I understood it. I thought I knew how to make it funny. I was basically just playing my brother, you know, who was the smart-ass in our family and who was so much smarter than everybody else. I never understood the idea of timing, but I knew that my brother was so funny that you'd wait for what he had to say... That all became part of Alex."
In his two-hour interview, Michael J. Fox talks about his early years breaking into television in his native Canada, where he starred in the CBC series Leo & Me. He describes his move to the U.S. and his early roles in features and television, including parts on Lou Grant and Family, and a regular role on the short-lived dramatic series Palmerstown, U.S.A. He details his big break playing "Alex P. Keaton" on the hit series Family Ties, and speaks at length about his co-stars and show creator Gary David Goldberg. Fox discusses his feature film career and how he won the role of Marty McFly in Back to the Future, and recounts his work as the lead actor and executive producer of the television series Spin City. He shares his reaction to being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 and what motivated his decision to go public with the news of his diagnosis in 1998. He comments on the formation of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and touches on some of his then-current projects -- voice-over roles in feature films and a book deal. James Moll conducted the interview on May 10, 2001 in New York, NY.
Highlights
On struggling to be an actor, how he needed a big break when he got an audition for Family Ties
On how Brandon Tartikoff had wanted to fire him -- he didn't see Fox as a lunchbox icon
On knowing that the role of "Alex P. Keaton" was for him
On being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease while filming Doc Hollywood and how that affected his professional decisions
On how to be a great, attractive comedian - risk looking unattractive
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his childhood and early influences; on wanting to "not have a real job" when he grew up
On his grandmother's prediction for him
On acting in junior high and high school; on his first professional job out of junior high, Leo and Me, and the difficulties of working and going to school simultaneously
On doing the television movie Letters From Frank with Art Carney and Maureen Stapleton
On moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting; on the advantages of looking young
On his first auditions in Los Angeles and working on Lou Grant, Family and Palmerstown U.S.A.
Chapter 2
On working on the Norman Lear-Alex Haley drama, Palmerstown U.S.A and flattening his Canadian accent; on differences between doing film and television
On trying to get acting jobs so he could stay in the United States
On auditioning for and winning the part of "Alex P. Keaton" on Family Ties
Chapter 3
On Family Ties co-stars Justine Bateman and Tracy Pollan
On the cancellation of Family Ties and doing Back to the Future simultaneously with the series
On Teen Wolf and Back to the Future
On fame and celebrity; on the support from fans
On his famous Pepsi commercials; on voiceover work for Homeward Bound, Stuart Little, Atlantis
Chapter 4
On some of his film work: Light of Day, The Secret of My Success, Bright Lights Big City, Casualties of War; on the public's response to him in serious roles
On wanting to direct
On being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease while filming Doc Hollywood and how that affected his professional decisions; on working with Woody Allen
On acting and executive producing on Spin City
On deciding to leave Spin City after 100 episodes and Charlie Sheen becoming the new lead
On going public with his bout with Parkinson's Disease
Chapter 5
On his life since Spin City; on starting his foundation; on writing a book and producing pilots
On his proudest professional and personal achievements
Shows
All in the Family
Michael J. Fox on how impressed he was to meet Norman Lear; admired Lear's show All in the Family
Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)
Michael J. Fox on winning an Emmy Award for his role on Family Ties; on getting advice on what to say: "I feel four feet tall"
Family
Michael J. Fox on working on Family
Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on struggling to be an actor, how he needed a big break when he got an audition for Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on how he was cast as "Alex P. Keaton" on Family Ties ; initial reservations about him
Michael J. Fox on what the premise of Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on the character "Alex P. Keaton" on Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on how co-stars Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross dealt with the young star's fame on Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on Justine Bateman and the working relationship of cast of Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on the cancellation of Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on Family Ties co-stars and producers
Late Night with David Letterman
Michael J. Fox on his success with The David Letterman Film Festival
Leo & Me
Michael J. Fox on his first acting job for Canadian Broadcasting, Leo & Me
Letters From Frank
Michael J. Fox on his first television movie for American television, Letters From Frank
Lou Grant
Michael J. Fox on working on Lou Grant
Palmerstown U.S.A.
Michael J. Fox on working on Palmerstwon U.S.A
Roots
Michael J. Fox on meeting Alex Haley and loving Roots
Spin City
Michael J. Fox on Spin City
Topics
Characters & Catchphrases
Michael J. Fox on the character "Archie Bunker" from All in the Family
Michael J. Fox on "Alex P. Keaton" on Family Ties; what Gary David Goldberg intended with the character
Creative Influences and Inspiration
Michael J. Fox on his childhood influences
Michael J. Fox on how his brother was his inspiration for "Alex P. Keaton" on Family Ties
Emmy Awards
Michael J. Fox on winning an Emmy for his role of "Alex P. Keaton" on Family Ties
Fame and Celebrity
Michael J. Fox on fame and celebrity
Ronald Reagan
Michael J. Fox on how the Republican party embraced his character on Family Ties ; Ronald Reagan wanted to appear on the show
Professions
Genres
Comedy Series
Michael J. Fox on the early days of Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on Spin City
People
Woody Allen
Michael J. Fox on working with Woody Allen on a TV movie
Justine Bateman
Michael J. Fox on Justine Bateman and the working relationship of cast of Family Ties
Meredith Baxter-Birney
Michael J. Fox on how co-star Meredith Baxter dealt with the young star's fame on Family Ties
Michael Boatman
Michael J. Fox on Spin City co-star Michael Boatman
Barry Bostwick
Michael J. Fox on casting Barry Bostwick as the mayor on Spin City
Matthew Broderick
Michael J. Fox on how Matthew Broderick turned down the role of "Alex P. Keaton" on Family Ties
James Broderick
Michael J. Fox on working with James Broderick on Family
Gary David Goldberg
Michael J. Fox on how he was cast as "Alex P. Keaton" on Family Ties ; creator Gary David Goldberg's initial reservations about him
Michael J. Fox on impressing Gary David Goldberg with his second audition
Michael J. Fox on the premise of Family Ties and who "Alex P. Keaton" was; what Gary David Goldberg intended with the character
Michael J. Fox on Gary David Goldberg and the cancellation of Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on Gary David Goldberg wanting to work with him on Spin City
Michael J. Fox on still being involved with Gary David Goldberg for Spin City
Michael Gross
Michael J. Fox on how co-star Michael Gross dealt with the young star's fame on Family Ties
Alex Haley
Michael J. Fox on working on Palmerstown U.S.A. with Norman Lear and Alex Haley
Michael J. Fox on meeting Alex Haley
Bill Lawrence
Michael J. Fox on Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence writing the script for Spin City
Norman Lear
Michael J. Fox on working on Palmerstown U.S.A. with Norman Lear and Alex Haley
Michael J. Fox on how impressed he was to meet Norman Lear; admired Lear's show All in the Family
Heather Locklear
Michael J. Fox on Heather Locklear
Tracy Nelson
Michael J. Fox on an episode of Family Ties with Tracy Nelson playing Alex's girlfriend
Tracy Pollan
Michael J. Fox on wife Tracy Pollan as "Alex P. Keaton's" girlfriend and what she brought out in his character
Ronald Reagan
Michael J. Fox on Ronald Reagan wanting to be on Family Ties
Robert Redford
Michael J. Fox on almost being cast in Ordinary People, but not impressing director Robert Redford
Alan Ruck
Michael J. Fox on Spin City co-star Alan Ruck
Charlie Sheen
Michael J. Fox on Charlie Sheen coming onto Spin City when he departed
Aaron Spelling
Michael J. Fox on Aaron Spelling's comedic genius
Steven Spielberg
Michael J. Fox on Spielberg wanting him for Back to the Future
Michael J. Fox on his success with The David Letterman Film Festival and encouragement from Steven Spielberg to direct
Lynn Stalmaster
Michael J. Fox on how casting director Toni Howard, colleague of Lynn Stalmaster, inspired him to go to L.A.
Eric Stoltz
Michael J. Fox on Back to the Future's start with Eric Stoltz as the original actor playing Marty McFly
Brandon Tartikoff
Michael J. Fox on how Brandon Tartikoff, executive at NBC, didn't like him for Family Ties
Michael J. Fox on how Brandon Tartikoff had wanted to fire him -- he didn't see him as a lunchbox icon
On being honored to be part of NBC during its 1980's pinnacle with Grant Tinker and Brandon Tartikoff
Grant Tinker
On being honored to be part of NBC during its 1980's pinnacle with Grant Tinker and Brandon Tartikoff
Michael J. Weithorn
Michael J. Fox on contributions writer Michael J. Weithorn made to the character "Alex P. Keaton"
Tina Yothers
Michael J. Fox on Tina Yothers, who played his youngest sister, "Jennifer" on Family Ties