Michael J. Fox is a living legend, having starred in one of the best movies of all time with Back to the Future. As the new movie about the actor details, Fox was forced into retirement due to the impact of Parkinson’s disease, which he was diagnosed with while still in his 20s.
The Apple TV Plus documentary about the actor contains plenty of nuggets about Fox’s life, influences, and challenges both on and off screen. While speaking about the documentary in the new issue of Empire magazine, Fox made one more revelation, too: it was a Leonardo DiCaprio movie which finally convinced him to retire.
“I thought of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Fox reaclled. “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.’”
However, unlike DiCaprio’s character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Fox was able to come to terms with the situation which was developing. “[I was like] ‘Well, let’s move on. It was peaceful [to come to that conclusion].”
As we outline in out Still: A Michael J Fox Movie review, the documentary about Fox contains may such insights into how he dealt with his diagnosis, which he successfully hid from those around him for many years. This reveal, however, is something new.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is one of the best Quentin Tarantino movies, as well as the director’s most recent. The fact that it’s had such a major impact on Fox makes it all the more interesting.
For more on Michael J. Fox, find out why he hated the DeLorean. Or, take a look at our picks for the best time travel movies and the best adventure movies.