It’s not often that David Beckham finds himself starstruck. But then, it’s not often he finds himself meeting one of the most beloved movie stars of all time.
Michael J Fox’s surprise appearance at Sunday night’s BAFTAs was one of the most talked-about moments of the night. The 62-year-old came on stage in a wheelchair to present the best film gong to Oppenheimer – and while many were shocked to see the worsening toll of his Parkinson’s disease, there was no doubting the status he still holds.
As he rose to his feet to announce the winner, so too did the A-list audience at London’s Southbank Centre – honouring the Back To The Future legend with a standing ovation. Then at the afterparty, stars were practically queuing up to spend time with him. “I cannot believe I got to meet Michael J Fox,” said Becks afterwards. “[I’m] a little starstruck to meet so many talented people that I’ve watched on the big screen.”
Michael J Fox presents the Best Film Award on stage (Getty Images for BAFTA)David, 48, even got an extra surprise when Doc Brown himself, Christopher Lloyd, commented on his Instagram pictures, with his movie catchphrase: “Great Scott!” Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham also grabbed a few minutes with Michael – while his wife of 36 years, Tracy Pollan, 63, looked on. The rare public appearance comes after his brutally honest documentary, Still: A Michael J Fox Film, was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Documentary Feature.
It ultimately lost out to Ukraine documentary 20 Days In Mariupol, but told of his 33-year battle with the incurable brain disease Parkinson’s, with which he was diagnosed at the height of his fame, aged just 29. The disease causes certain parts of the brain to deteriorate, affecting movement, speech and more.
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The star pictured with Tracy Pollan (BAFTA via Getty Images)
Michael J. Fox in the backstage with Hannah Waddingham (BAFTA via Getty Images)“It’s getting tougher; every day it gets tougher,” he has said of its effects. “I had a tumor on my spine. It messed up my walking. “[I] broke this arm, broke this elbow. I broke my face... It’s falling and aspirating food and getting pneumonia.”
Michael had just played Marty McFly in BTTF Part III, was celebrating three years’ marriage to Tracy and was busy filming Doc Hollywood when, in 1991, he noticed a twitching finger and sore shoulder. He initially brushed it off, but eventually sought treatment and was diagnosed. Tracy whispered in his ear: “In sickness and in health”.
For the next seven years, he was in “denial”, drinking heavily until Tracy found him passed out and asked: “Is this what you want to be?” It was the wake-up call he needed. He went public with his diagnosis, began lobbying the US Government and continued acting, with roles in 90s sitcom Spin City and the 2010s hit series The Good Wife.
Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd in Back To The Future (Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)He also set up the Michael J Fox foundation, which to date has raised more than £790m for research into Parkinson’s – just what happens when “an incurable optimist meets an incurable disease”, he joked. He is now dad to Sam, 34, Schuyler and Aquinnah, 29, and Esme, 22. And while he had to quit acting in 2020, his foundation is still going.
The real McFly has no DeLorean to change his own past. But he’s still determined to change the future. “It’s a gift that keeps on taking,” he has said of his Parkinson’s and the legacy it has forced him to leave. “But it’s a gift.”
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