Coldplay has recently set a new record for themselves by headlining the Glastonbury Festival 2024 for the fifth time. The band’s performance was an absolute spectacle with special guests joining them on stage throughout their set. Chief among these amazing moments, the band left the crowd of over 100,000 astounded when frontman Chris Martin invited Back to the Future star Michael J. Fox on stage for their final act. The actor’s surprise performance left fans emotional and nostalgic. Amid this blast from the past, here’s a look at where Michael J. Fox is now, following his Parkinson’s diagnosis and his retirement from acting.
The connection between Fox, who has long been deemed a Hollywood veteran, and one of the most famous bands in the world may seem unusual; however, there is more than meets the eye here. Coldplay share a meaningful bond with Fox, as it was his famed Back to the Future lead Marty McFly that has inspired their musical career. Let’s take a look at their sweet friendship, and how the Glastonbury festival set came about.
Before inviting Fox on stage, Chris Martin teased his appearance, referencing the song Johnny B Goode, which the actor’s Back to the Future (1985) character Marty McFly performs in the first film. Further speaking about why Michael J. Fox is their “forever hero”, Martin told the crowd, “The main reason why we’re in a band is because of watching Back to the Future.”
As the crowd erupted into rapturous applause, Fox, 63, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, appeared on the stage in a wheelchair with a guitar and jammed alongside the band for their final two songs, Humankind and Fix You.
Michael J. Fox performed alongside Coldplay at the Glastonbury Festival 2024. (Image: Michael J. Fox/Instagram)
While Fox and Coldplay’s Glastonbury Festival 2024 moment will go down in history, this is not the first time that their worlds have converged. Previously in 2016, the actor had joined the band on stage in New York to perform Johnny B Goode. It was a delightful moment for fans to watch Fox play the song on guitar, considering he did not originally play or sing the track in the film, which instead featured the vocal talents of Mark Campbell.
How Michael J. Fox inspired Chris Martin
With his amazing voice, it’s impossible to think of Chris Martin as anything but a musician. The view is much different for the singer, however, whose life was forever changed by one cinematic moment.
It was the iconic guitar scene featuring the song Johnny B Goode on Back to the Future that inspired Martin to start a band. During his appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2022, the singer revealed that watching Michael J. Fox play the Chuck Berry song in the 1985 film influenced him to pursue music. He said, “That’s what made me want to be in a band, you know? That scene.”
It’s hard to imagine that Coldplay fans could be anything but grateful for Fox’s stirring performance, considering just how cherished the band’s music has become today. Interestingly, that same scene has inspired more than one musician, with John Mayer also picking up the guitar after watching Fox’s character play the iconic riff in the film.
Despite the popularity of the Back to the Future franchise, many Gen-Z fans are unaware of Michael J. Fox’s impressive legacy and are curious about it after his Glastonbury Festival 2024 performance. Following his Parkinson’s diagnosis, the actor stepped away from full-time acting, but his career has been nothing short of exceptional. Let’s dig in further to learn more about where Michael J. Fox is now, his retirement from acting, and more.
Where is Michael J. Fox now? All about his Film and TV career
The Hollywood story
Michael J. Fox doesn’t come from a film family; in fact, he grew up in Vancouver, Canada with parents who worked blue-collar jobs. While the actor had no connections or ties to Los Angeles, he realised his acting potential in high school, and eventually took a leap of faith. After dropping out, he moved to LA and decided to pursue acting. With his parents living paycheck to paycheck, it wasn’t easy for Fox to make it in Hollywood;at one point, he even recalled “dumpster diving for food” since he had no money.
Braving through the weight of failed auditions and menial roles, the actor continued to push his way up in the industry until he landed his first feature film, the 1980 teen comedy Midnight Madness. Two years on, Michael landed one of his biggest projects, the TV series Family Ties which eventually turned him into a household name. His comedic role as Alex P. Keaton in the show went on to win him three consecutive Emmy awards. The NBC show also turned out to be special on a personal front, given that Fox met his wife Tracy Pollan on the set of the show. The couple have celebrated 35 years of marriage together, putting their relationship in the rare league of Hollywood’s longest-lasting marriages.
Professionally, Fox’s breakout performance in the sitcom also paved the way to one of the biggest roles in his career: Marty McFly in the Back to the Future franchise. However, a little bit of trivia about the iconic Hollywood film is that Fox wasn’t the first choice to play the role of Marty McFly. The actor replaced Eric Stoltz who was originally cast in the film; Stoltz was eventually fired because director Robert Zemeckis felt he was miscast. Shockingly, a major chunk of the film had to be reshot after Fox was brought on board midway through filming. However, that false start later became water under the bridge, as Fox continued to reprise his role in the film’s two sequels alongside Christopher Lloyd.
At the peak of his success in Hollywood, almost a year after the release of Back to the Future Part III in 1991, Fox (then aged 29) was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease. The devastating news came as a shock to the actor who struggled to come to terms with his illness and accept the grave circumstances it put him in. Grappling with depression and denial, he continued to fight Parkinson’s privately and worked for over seven years whilst hiding his condition from the public eye.
What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that affects the nervous system and the parts of the body controlled by the nerves, affecting movement and often resulting in tremors.
Continuing to shoot both films as well as TV projects, Fox relied heavily on dopamine pills like Halloween Smarties (candy) to help fend off his early symptoms. Years later, he opened up in his documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie about how he held props in most scenes to help hide his tremors. Most notably, the actor dealt with his condition while performing one of his greatest TV roles — the uptight New York deputy mayor Mike Flaherty in Spin City. The iconic role earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical for three years in a row from 1997 to 1999, one of which came after he publicly announced his diagnosis in 1998. By the early 2000s, he had begun taking up voice acting projects, with one of his most popular roles being that of the titular character in the Stuart Little franchise.
Amid his flourishing career, Fox continued to face personal challenges, including a battle with alcoholism. However, with the support of his wife and family, Fox has now been sober for over 30 years.
Second-act, retirement, and more
After finding major success across his projects from the Back to the Future franchise, four seasons of Spin City, and films like Bright Lights Big City, Fox landed his final leading role in TV. In 2013, he starred in The Michael J. Fox Show, a the short-lived sitcom which ran for one season. Fox’s successful acting career has been a testament to his strength and optimism, considering he once recalled a doctor telling him he’d be lucky if he was able to work another decade.
Defying that prediction, Fox went on to work for over 30 years and also gathered various prestigious honours along the way including a Grammy win in 2010 for his spoken word album, an adaptation of his memoir Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. This award came a decade after he took a break from acting and set up the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. As of 2023, it has been reported that the foundation has raised over USD 2 billion for Parkinson’s research projects.
In the final leg of his acting career before announcing his retirement in 2020, Fox appeared in shows like Designated Survivor (2016) and also guest starred in The Good Fight (2017). Speaking about his retirement in a 2022 interview with comedian Mike Birbiglia, Fox revealed that he faced difficulty memorising his lines, and that realisation led to his decision to step away.
Despite his retirement from full-time acting, Fox has not stayed out of the limelight. In fact, in 2023, he appeared in the Apple documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which chronicled his professional and personal life, delving into his relationship with fame before and after his Parkinson’s diagnosis. Fox’s raw commentary about his highs and lows received praise from fans and critics alike.
Before going viral for his Glastonbury Festival performance, the actor made another greatly-discussed public appearance at the 2024 BAFTA Awards. Making a surprise appearance to present the award for Best Film, the actor came onstage in a wheelchair, but insisted on standing up at the podium to hand out the trophy to Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer. For humility, grace, and his contribution to Hollywood cinema, Fox was celebrated with a rousing applause and a standing ovation.
As of 2024, Michael J. Fox has a net worth of USD 65 million, a figure built atop his successful Hollywood career. The actor has also released four books: Lucky Man: A Memoir (2002), Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist (2009), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned (2010), and No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality (2020).
(Main and featured images: Michael J. Fox/Instagram)