Celebrated actor Michael J. Fox revealed that he believes he “did some damage” in the 1980s that eventually may have led to his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
The comment came on “CBS Sunday Morning” after Jane Pauley asked the actor about a speech he made when longtime friend Woody Harrelson presented Fox with an honorary Oscar at the 2022 awards show.
“We did some damage,” Fox said while Harrelson, 61, laughed onstage at the Academy Awards last year. “We did some damage in the ’80s.”
Pauley then questioned Fox — who reportedly drank cobra blood with Harrelson in Thailand in the late 1980s — about whether it was possible that he actually did do some “damage
to himself.
“I mean, there’s so many ways that you can … that I could’ve hurt myself,” said Fox, 61. “I could’ve hit my head. I could’ve drank too much at a certain developmental period.”
Fox, who was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 29, believes Parkinson’s to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
“Most likely I think is that I was exposed to some kind of chemical. What we say is that genetics loads the gun and environment pulls the trigger,” added the “Teen Wolf” star.
Since his diagnosis, Fox has become one of the leading advocates for fighting the disease and set up the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to help fund studies and educate the public.
The Post has reached out to Fox for comment.
According to the CDC, Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s.
The Parkinson’s Foundation says the affliction “affects predominately the dopamine-producing (“dopaminergic”) neurons in a specific area of the brain called substantia nigra.”
Fox, who told the public of his diagnosis in 1998, also admitted in the interview he believes that will not reach a certain milestone birthday.
“I’m not gonna be 80,” Fox somberly said.
The “Family Ties” alum said over time it gets harder and harder to do things.
“I’m not gonna lie. It’s gettin’ hard, it’s gettin’ harder. It’s gettin’ tougher. Every day it’s tougher,” admits Fox.
According to Fox, he has begun to “break” in little ways after a botched surgery to remove a benign tumor on his spine “messed up” his walking.
“You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s,” concluded the “Stuart Little” star. “So – so I’ve been – I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it.”
In 2021, Fox said that he wasn’t afraid of death.
“I’m really blunt with people about cures. When they ask me if I will be relieved of Parkinson’s in my lifetime, I say, ‘I’m 60 years old, and science is hard. So, no,’” Fox candidly told AARP. “I am genuinely a happy guy. I don’t have a morbid thought in my head — I don’t fear death. At all.”