Michael J. Fox Officially Returns With Historic Milestone for the First Time in 10 Years

After five years away from the screen amid his “second retirement,” Michael J. Fox returned to acting this year in a big way. The beloved Back to the Future star joined the stacked cast of Shrinking Season 3 in a meaningful role as Gerry, a Parkinson’s disease patient who forms a bond with and becomes the hallucination of Harrison Ford‘s Dr. Paul Rhoades as he learns more about his own diagnosis. Although his appearances were limited, it was a role tailored for him that Fox was eager to take on because of how it promoted the realities of living with Parkinson’s in a humorous but truthful way. The part was also an opportunity to reunite with his former Spin City co-creator Bill Lawrence.

Now, however, Fox has a chance to cap off his comeback with a bit of hardware. During the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Award nominations on Wednesday, he received his eighteenth career nod in the Guest Actor in a Comedy Series category. It marks his first nomination since 2016, when he received his fifth and final recognition for his role as Louis Canning in The Good Wife. Should he come out victorious, this would be his sixth win overall and first since his guest spot on the Denis Leary-led FX dark comedy Rescue Me. His competition will be stiff, though, including fellow Shrinking star Brett Goldstein, Widow’s Bay‘s Hamish Linklater, Hacks‘ Christopher McDonald, the late Rob Reiner for The Bear, and Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie for his hosting duties on Saturday Night Live.

Fox’s nomination is nothing short of a triumph for a talented actor who has continuously fought through Parkinson’s disease to continue his passion. Originally diagnosed back in 1991, he left his starring role in Spin City in 2000 as the complications were already making it difficult on set day after day. Despite that, he continued to find new and acclaimed ways to be on-screen, from Boston Legal to The Good Wife, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and more, until he announced his second retirement in 2020. Shrinking again inspired him to step back on-screen as he told People back in October that he personally reached out to Lawrence about appearing in the hit dramedy.

“I said, ‘You did a show about Parkinson’s, and you didn’t call me?’ And he said, ‘Oh, you want to do it?’ And I said, ‘I’d love to do it.’ So he said, ‘Let me think about it, see what I can do.’ So he went to work on it and came up with this concept, it’s really good.”

Release Date

January 27, 2023

Network

Apple TV

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