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Michael J. Fox is one of the most beloved Hollywood stars. After all, he has starred in classics likeBack to the FutureandBack to the Future 2among others. In 1991, at just the age of 29, he came to know that he had an early onset of Parkinson’s disease. He took his time and shared the news with the public and his fans in 1998.
The same year he opted for Thalamotomy to relieve some of his tremors. The actor continued working, but it was rumored that he wasn’t all too well during shoots. Recently, theTeen Wolfstar announced that he is retiring from Hollywood and coincidentally it was a film with Hollywood in its title that finally allowed him to stop fighting and move on from the film industry.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Film That Encouraged Michael J. Fox To Stop Acting
In an interview with Empire Magazine,Michael J. Foxrevealed that it was Quentin Tarantino’sOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodthat gave him the courage to stop acting and embrace his situation. TheDoc Hollywoodactor said that he saw a scene in the $374 million grossing film where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Rick Dalton, struggled to remember his lines and a meltdown that led him to destroy his trailer in a fit of rage.
Read More:Leonardo DiCaprio’s Movie Nearly Caused Martin Scorsese to Lose $1.5 Million After “Absurd and Shocking” Allegations
Fox said that he too was facing a similar situation when he was filmingThe Good Fight. He couldn’t remember his lines and that was making the situation more difficult. This is why that particular scene of DiCaprio hit him hard. Michael J. Fox said:
“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. 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.”
It’s interesting that this was the scene that inspired Fox to finally lay down the script and get a break from the work he has been doing all his life. This is becauseQuentin Tarantinorevealed that DiCaprio actually improvised the entire over-the-top meltdown.
Read More:“I could have lifted a car over my f*cking head”: Jonah Hill Was Miserable After Snorting Fake Cocaine For $389 Million Movie Starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio Improvised The Scene That Inspired Michael J. Fox
Variety reported Quentin Tarantino saying that the scene inOnce Upon a Time in HollywoodwhereLeonardo DiCapriotrashes his trailer after forgetting his lines wasn’t originally in the script and as a result, it wasn’t rehearsed as well. The ace director said:
“It wasn’t in the script actually, so we never rehearsed it or anything. Leo had a whole thing. At some point, it was like, ‘Look, I need to fck up during the ‘Lancer’ sequence, all right? And when I fck up during the ‘Lancer’ sequence, I need to have a real crisis of conscience about it and I have to come back from that.'”
Read More:“It really helped when he’s holding a gun to your face”: Leonardo DiCaprio Thanked His Co-Star for Making Him Beg for His Life to Stay in Character for $291M Oscar Winning Film
As for Michael J. Fox, the scene brought him a sense of realization that he won’t be able to win from Parkinson’s disease. He said,“I’ve philosophically accepted it and taken its weight, Parkinson’s is still kicking my ass. I won’t win at this. I will lose. But, there’s plenty to be gained in the loss.”He will tell his story and more inSTILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movieis streaming on Apple TV+.
Source:Variety
Ishita Chatterjee
Content Writer
Articles Published :750
Ishita is an Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows, with over 700 articles published. She has been working in the entertainment and pop-culture niche for more than 4 years. With a English Literature degree, Ishita generally covers news and analyses on Foundation, Ted Lasso, Severance, and more.A lifelong DC fan, Ishita spends her time watching and re-watching everything in the DC universe (yes, even including the Arrowverse shows).
