Michael J. Fox recalls 'dumpster-diving for food' before he made it big in Hollywood
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Michael J. Fox is going back to the past.
The Back to the Future actor recently opened up about the tough early years of his career in Hollywood, which included dumpster diving for food, after he dropped out of high school and moved from Canada to Los Angeles.
"I knew I was more talented than a lot of people," Fox told Variety. "And I knew that if I wanted to be someone, I couldn't just sit on my parents' porch and think, 'Boy, if I was only born in the States and my parents had money and weren't living paycheck to paycheck, I could do something with my life.'"
So, Fox moved to Hollywood, and eventually landed a role in 1980's Midnight Madness, a Disney comedy that would be his feature film debut. He said he recalled sitting around on set, and thinking, "Why is this going to work for me and not for them?" (In addition to Fox, the film also starred David Naughton, Stephen Furst, Maggie Roswell, Eddie Deezen, Debra Clinger, and Brad Wilkin.)
Fox clarified, "It's not that I wished them unhappiness or bad luck — I wished them all the success in the world. But I knew I was going to make it. God knows why. I was living on the margins. I was 18 years old, with no money, no connections, literally dumpster diving for food."
Michael J. Fox
The young actor's premonition was, of course, correct. Fox would go on to much success in the '80s and '90s, with the NBC sitcom Family Ties and the Back to the Future films, as well as starring roles in Teen Wolf, The Secret of My Success, Casualties of War, Doc Hollywood, and The Frighteners. His accolades include five Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award.
Fox's comments come as he's busy promoting his new documentary, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie. Directed by Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, the doc combines archival footage from the sets of some of Fox's most memorable projects with interviews, vintage photos, and scripted recreations of key moments from the actor's personal past. The film was also produced with unparalleled access to Fox and his family and chronicles his personal and professional triumphs and trials, including his battle with Parkinson's disease.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie streams on Apple TV+ Friday.
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