Harrison Ford and Michael J. Fox are bonded for life.
The actors worked together on Season 3 of “Shrinking,” which sees Fox, 64, join the cast as a Parkinson’s patient who befriends Ford’s Dr. Paul Rhoades who is also battling the neurodegenerative disease.
Fox, who has Parkinson’s in real life, told Vanity Fair that he was blown away by Ford’s performance.
“That’s one thing that’s amazing about Harrison. I don’t have to convince him I have Parkinson’s, but he had to convince me he had Parkinson’s,” Fox said in the pair’s joint interview published Tuesday.
“What I wasn’t prepared for was how much of his own understanding of the disease he brought to it,” the “Back to the Future” icon continued. “I mean, I recognized Parkinson’s in his eyes. The things I was feeling, I recognized in the way he was expressing himself.”
Fox added of Ford’s portrayal, “I was just brought to tears by it.”
Ford, 83, was moved by Fox’s comments, calling him “generous, supportive, open, just a wonderful person.”
“And pretty goddamn good actor too,” the “Star Wars” actor added of Fox. “It’s a daunting disease and also a daunting job to represent it in an appropriate way. It was a very important experience for me to have. I have other friends who have Parkinson’s in various degrees and they find themselves in a different condition than Michael is. Michael is an extraordinarily powerful person.”
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 at the age of 29, but he didn’t announce it publicly until 1998. Two years later, he founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, a move that has helped many find the help and support they need throughout their respective battles with the disease.
Prior to “Shrinking,” Fox last acted on an episode of the CBS drama “The Good Fight” in 2020, the same year he announced that he was retiring from acting.
According to Vanity Fair, the new “Shrinking” season will depict Paul giving therapy to other people with Parkinson’s, including Fox’s character.
“The thing about therapy is it’s a talking cure, but there’s no talking cure for Parkinson’s, so those two worlds have always had an uneasy relationship,” Fox explained to the outlet. “I couldn’t have gotten through Parkinson’s without therapy, but you find yourself educating the therapist as much as they’re educating you. You have to paint a picture of the ground you’re living on. And it’s very hard to explain to people.”
Fox’s role in “Shrinking” reunites him with “Spin City” creator Bill Lawrence, who made the Apple TV comedy with lead star Jason Segel and recurring star Brett Goldstein.
“It was a short and profane conversation,” Fox recalled of reaching out to Lawrence to join the series. “I said, ‘You’re doing a f—ing show about Parkinson’s with Harrison f—ing Ford, and you don’t call me?’”
Fox previously opened up about his joyful experience on the “Shrinking” set.
“It was the first time ever I get to show up on-set, and I didn’t have to worry about am I too tired or coughing or anything,” he told People last year. “I just do it.”
“It was really good, because for the moments when I say, ‘I’m not going to be able to do this,’ then I say, ‘Well, I’ll just deal with how I can’t do it in the scene.’ And you get through it,” Fox added.
“Shrinking” Season 3 premieres Jan. 28.
