Michael J. Fox feared he would be “crucified” for making light of his Parkinson’s disease battle when he appeared on Larry David’s sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2011.
Michael J. Fox feared that he would be “crucified” for making jokes about Parkinson’s disease during his appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
The Back to the Future star played a fictionalised version of himself in a 2011 episode of the comedy – ending up in a feud with Larry David, whose alter ego was convinced that Fox was using the condition to earn sympathy – and admits that he was initially concerned about appearing on the show.
Michael told Esquire: “Larry called me up and said he had this idea and I said, ‘No, they’ll crucify us. They’re gonna kill us if we do this.’
“I said that. And he said, ‘Oh, okay, well’, I said, ‘No, that’s not a problem. That recommends it to me.’ And it was just a great time.”
The 65-year-old actor added: “It’s pure improv, except they have the central theme and they lay it out and you pick up on that and you just run it. And I played myself so I can’t screw it up.”
Despite his initial worries, Fox now considers the episode as a “big breakthrough” for those suffering with the neurodegenerative condition – which causes symptoms such as tremors.
He said: “It was a big breakthrough again in this Parkinson’s point of view, bringing people into our way of thinking, which was we’re people in society, and we have to reach out for what we need, and we have to express ourselves.
“So great. He (Larry) was just so cool and so funny. He would do things that I didn’t expect.”
Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 – something he made public seven years later – and vowed to find a cure for the disease earlier this year.
The Shrinking star, who has raised over $3 billion in research for the disease since establishing the Michael J. Fox Foundation back in 2000, told People: “Of course, things have gotten harder over the years.
“[But] I’m privileged to commit my time and energy to bringing everything I’ve got to help cure this disease.”
Fox effectively became a public face of the disease when he launched the foundation, and he pointed out that his own experiences help.
He added: “I know the issues and I share my community’s sense of urgency.”
Michael J. Fox thought he would be ‘crucified’ for joking about Parkinson’s disease in Curb Your Enthusiasm
