Risen to fame with his outstanding portrayal of Alex P. Keaton on the famous sitcom Family Ties (1982) and Marty McFly in the Back to the Future movie series, Michael J. Fox had established a whole new level of acting in the entertainment industry. But after a successful over four-decade-old career with numerous superhit movies and TV shows in his name, the now 62-year-old finally decided to retire in 2021.
What’s strange is that among other reasons, one of the most impactful ones that influenced him to quit acting was when he saw Leonardo DiCaprio ‘screaming at himself in the mirror’ during the shoot of his 2019 film, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
How Leonardo DiCaprio Influenced Michael J. Fox To Reflect On His Career And Quit Acting
In the superhit Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, there was a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio‘s character, Rick Dalton flipped out in his trailer after being unable to remember his line. Though this scene was improvised by the Titanic star from the completely separate one that Tarantino had written for him, it made Michael J. Fox relate to the scene and understand that his time in the acting industry might be up.
“I thought of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. There’s a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio‘s character can’t remember his lines anymore. He goes back to his dressing room and he’s screaming at himself in the mirror. Just freaking insane,” Fox said. “I had this moment where I was looking in the mirror and thought, ‘I cannot remember it anymore. Well, let’s move on.’ It was peaceful.”
Nonetheless, Fox made the right decision to let go of his long-term entertainment career, judging from how much more stress he’d have to deal with daily had he not made this choice because of Parkinson’s disease.
Leonardo DiCaprio Wasn’t The Only Reason Behind Michael J. Fox Retiring
Although this fact was unknown for many years, Michael J. Fox had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease back in 1991 which resulted in him suffering from several injuries while filming. While he managed to somehow managed to work despite this, 20 years after his diagnosis he realized that it was getting much harder for him to go on.
“There is a time for everything, and my time of putting in a twelve-hour workday, and memorizing seven pages of dialogue, is best behind me,” he writes. “At least for now.”
His disease also left him unable to memorize his scripts (thus the reason why he related to DiCaprio’s character flipping out scene), making acting a more and more daunting task for him.
“In fairness to myself and to producers, directors, editors, and poor beleaguered script supervisors, not to mention actors who enjoy a little pace, I enter a second retirement. That could change, because everything changes. But if this is the end of my acting career, so be it.”
Regardless, it all got a bit too much for him and he ended up retiring after a legendary career with numerous renowned works in the film industry. For what it’s worth, Michael J. Fox has set up a whole new level of competition to perfection for the up-and-coming actors with his remarkable performances on-screen that will forever be remembered with much appreciation and acclamation.
Source: TheThings
