Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Creator / MichaelJFox

Go To

1[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/michael_j_fox.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:280:[[{{Catchphrase}} This is heavy...]]]]
3->''"I enjoy my work as an actor. But to make a difference in people's lives through advocacy and through supporting research - that's the kind of privilege that few people will get, and it's certainly bigger than being on TV every Thursday for half an hour."''
4
5Michael Andrew Fox, [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever OC]] (born June 9, 1961), known as [[StageNames Michael J. Fox]], is a [[UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} Canadian]]-[[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates American]] actor, author, [[CelebrityVoiceActor voice over artist]], with a face that seems born to make us laugh.
6
7He started off as a TeenIdol in TheEighties, making a dual hit on both film and television as Marty [=McFly=] from the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy (1985-1990) and Alex P. Keaton from ''Series/FamilyTies'' (1982-1989), for which he won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. A rather popular but generally less famous role was the main character in ''Film/TeenWolf''. He also did [[TomHanksSyndrome some serious stuff]] that almost no one remembers, and he's acknowledged that he isn't an actor who can "blend" into a wide variety of roles.
8
9In TheNineties, he played Mike Flaherty on ''Series/SpinCity'' (1996-2000), for which he won an Emmy, three Golden Globes, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He was also Creator/JonStewart's first guest as host of ''Series/TheDailyShowWithJonStewart'' in 1999.
10
11Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, and disclosed his condition to the public in 1998. Fox semi-retired from acting in 2000 as the symptoms of his disease worsened. He has since become an advocate for research towards finding a cure.
12
13Despite his "retirement", he has guest starred on various television shows and also some voice acting work, most notably ''Film/StuartLittle'' and ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', where his distinctive boyish voice adds to the generally benign nature of his characters. Some of his guest spots have him [[DisabledCharacterDisabledActor pigeon-holed as a man with an illness]]; when he guested on ''Series/BostonLegal'' he had lung cancer, when he guested on ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' he had OCD and when he guested on ''Series/TheGoodWife'' he had a neurological disorder.
14
15He also appeared as himself in his prime-time special ''Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist (A Personal Journey of Hope)'' in May 2009. He made a surprise appearance at the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, where he declared everyone attending to be honorary Canadians - which he then claims means that [[FridgeBrilliance Canada won every gold medal of the games]]! On May 4, 2010, he (for lack of a better word) trolled Creator/StephenColbert on [[Series/TheColbertReport his own show]]. In 2011, he also trolled Creator/LarryDavid on [[Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm his show]].
16
17He made his return to TV with the sitcom ''Series/TheMichaelJFoxShow'', which ran from October 2013 to January 2014. In 2020 he publicly stated he was no longer actively seeking acting roles due to his Parkinson's making it hard to memorize lines but would still consider taking an offered part if it was a great one and worked for him.
18
19He has four children with his wife, actress Creator/TracyPollan.
20
21----
22!!Filmography
23* ''Film/MidnightMadness'' (1980) - Scott
24* ''Film/ClassOf1984'' (1982) - Arthur
25* ''Series/FamilyTies'' (1982-89) - Alex P. Keaton
26* ''Film/HighSchoolUSA'' (1983) - J.J. Manners
27* ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' Trilogy
28** ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'' (1985) - Marty [=McFly=]
29** ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'' (1989) - Marty [=McFly=], Marty [=McFly=] Jr., Marlene [=McFly=]
30** ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'' (1990) - Marty [=McFly=], Seamus [=McFly=]
31* ''Film/TeenWolf'' (1985) - Scott Howard
32* ''Film/TheSecretOfMySuccess'' (1987) - Brantley Foster/Carlton Whitfield
33* ''Film/BrightLightsBigCity'' (1988) - Jamie Conway
34* ''Film/CasualtiesOfWar'' (1989) - PFC. Max Eriksson
35* ''Film/DocHollywood'' (1991) - Dr. Benjamin "Ben" Stone
36* ''Film/TheHardWay'' (1991) - Nick Lang
37* ''Film/HomewardBoundTheIncredibleJourney'' (and sequels) (1993) - Chance (voice)
38* ''Film/LifeWithMikey'' (1993) - Michael Chapman
39* ''Film/{{For Love or Money|1993}}'' (1993) - Doug Ireland
40* ''Film/{{Greedy}}'' (1994) - Daniel "Danny" [=McTeague=]
41* ''Film/TheAmericanPresident'' (1995) - Lewis Rothschild
42* ''Film/TheFrighteners'' (1996) - Frank Bannister (His last live action starring role)
43* ''Film/MarsAttacks'' (1996) - Jason Stone
44* ''Series/SpinCity'' (TV series) (1996-2000) - Michael "Mike" Flaherty
45* ''Film/StuartLittle'' (and sequels) (1999) - Stuart Little (voice) (The second film is his last starring role in a theatrical film)
46* ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' (2001) - Milo Thatch (voice)
47* ''Film/Interstate60'' - Mr. Baker (a cameo)
48* ''Series/TheMichaelJFoxShow'' (2013-14) - Mike Henry
49* ''Series/DesignatedSurvivor'' (2018) - Ethan West
50
51----
52!!Tropes Associated with Michael J. Fox's roles
53
54* BreakoutCharacter: Alex P. Keaton was meant to contrast his parents, but effectively became the star of ''Series/FamilyTies''.
55* CelebrityParadox: Appearing in character as Marty [=McFly=] on ''Series/JimmyKimmelLive'', he was asked to stick around at the conclusion of the bit because Michael J. Fox would be the first guest on the show that night. His reply: "Oh, the guy from ''Film/TeenWolf''!"
56* DawsonCasting: He was 23 playing 17-year-old Marty [=McFly=] in ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'', and [[OlderThanTheyLook due to his short stature and youthful face]] has almost never played a character the same age. In ''Series/SpinCity'' Michael Flaherty was established as just turning 30 just as Fox was approaching 40.
57* FatalMethodActing: Almost fell victim to this in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII''. While shooting the hanging scene, his hand slipped and he got hanged for real, until a crewmember noticed he wasn't breathing and resuscitated him.
58* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: He never made any attempt at not using his native Canadian accent in Hollywood, which has both naturally softened with living in the US for so long and is [[ClosestThingWeGot more-or-less close enough]] to an American one to serve the purpose — however, anytime [[Series/FamilyTies Alex]] or [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Marty]] says [[{{Shibboleth}} "sorry" or "tomorrow"]] pretty much gives the game away.
59* StageNames: There was already a Michael Fox in the Screen Actors Guild when Michael J. Fox was just starting out, so he used the middle initial "J" in homage to actor Creator/MichaelJPollard. He chose not to use an "A", for his actual middle name "Andrew", to avoid headlines like "Michael, A Fox!" or [[CanadaEh "Michael 'Eh?' Fox"]]. Now he's taken over as videos of the other Michael Fox are impossible to find.[[note]]He's stated in interviews that the J stands for "Jenius".[[/note]]
60* WhatCouldHaveBeen: At the height of his stardom, he was considered to play Andrew Clark in ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'', Maverick in ''Film/TopGun'' and the title character in ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'' before they went to Creator/EmilioEstevez, Creator/TomCruise and Creator/MatthewBroderick respectively.
61* WrittenInInfirmity: He's taken many roles, some major, since his "retirement". If you want to cast him, all you have to do is say [[DisabledCharacterDisabledActor the character, too, has Parkinson's]] (though as mentioned before, other ailments, some which do ''not'' present as Fox's Parkinson's does, have been used). Notably, he's ''not'' always the man whose disease is the main feature of the character; one line mentioning his illness lets you know why [[Series/DesignatedSurvivor that one lawyer guy]] walks like that, and on we go with the plot.

Top