On ‘Boston Legal,’ Fox’s art truly is an imitation of his life
Michael J. Fox says that acting for him, these days, is “like being a right-handed painter and being forced to paint with your left hand.”
“You go, ‘Yeah, I’m artistic, but the lines aren’t straight anymore. I have creativity, but I’m not staying within the lines.’ “
Since quitting acting full time in 2000 because of the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease – first diagnosed in 1991, but not revealed to the public until 1998 – the “Family Ties” and “Spin City” star has only occasionally acted on TV.
In 2001 he returned for several guest appearances as Deputy Mayor Michael Flaherty in ABC’s “Spin City,” and in 2004 guest starred as a surgeon with obsessive-compulsive disorder on two episodes of NBC’s “Scrubs.”
Now the 44-year-old Fox is appearing on ABC’s “Boston Legal” (Tuesdays, 10 p.m.) as a business tycoon, Daniel Post, a cancer sufferer who hires the firm of Crane, Poole and Schmidt to defend him.
Post’s been sued for corrupting a study for a new cancer-fighting drug by using his insider clout to ensure he was given the nonplacebo. During the court case he becomes romantically entangled with his attorney, Denise Bauer (Julie Bowen).
Fox won three Emmys for playing Alex P. Keaton on “Family Ties” and a fourth for “Spin City.”
The producers of “Boston Legal” knew since last season of his interest in the show, but it wasn’t until now that a suitable role came up.
Fox says he is a fan of “Boston Legal” for a number of reasons, including its “so smart and so funny take” on ethical and moral issues.
He particularly enjoyed working on Post’s brief encounter with Denny Crane, the most notorious of the ethically challenged lawyers, played by William Shatner, a “fellow Canadian.”
More than anything, Fox says, “What I loved was being part of the creative process again. Something as simple as being in a night shoot and smelling the smell of carbon lights in the cold air. … It was nice, and nice being involved with other actors.”
Because Fox doesn’t know how extreme the symptoms of his illness will be on any given day, he had to wing it in suggesting Post’s own health problems.
“I just show up and do what I can do, and stay true to the emotional arc of the character,” he says.
He admits it was physically “pretty taxing,” and doesn’t plan to return to acting full time. Instead, he says, he’s “finding better things to do,” particularly spending as much time as possible with his four kids and wife, Tracy Pollan.
He also devotes himself to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, founded in 2000, which has raised millions in hopes of finding a cure.
And he’s working on a book, a “kind of follow-up” to his memoir, “Lucky Man.”
“I’m exploring the idea of optimism in all its forms,” he says. “What is optimism all about? It’s kind of something I’ve been playing with.”
The birthday bunch
Actress Betty White is 84. Singer-actress Eartha Kitt is 79. Actor James Earl Jones is 75. Talk show host Maury Povich is 67. Singer Steve Earle is 51. Actor-comedian Steve Harvey is 49. Singer Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) is 47. Actor-comedian Jim Carrey is 44. Actor Joshua Malina (“The West Wing”) is 40. Singer Shabba Ranks is 40. Actor Naveen Andrews is 37. Singer Kid Rock is 35. Actor Freddy Rodriguez (“Six Feet Under”) is 31. Actress Zooey Deschanel is 26. Singer Ray J is 25.