Michael Andrew Fox, OC, known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a retired Canadian-American actor, author, producer, writer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future film trilogy, Alex P. Keaton in the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1982–1989), and Mike Flaherty in the ABC sitcom Spin City (1996–2001). He is also well-known for voicing the titular character of the Stuart Little franchise.
For Disney, he provided the voice of Chance in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey and its 1996 sequel. He also voiced Milo Thatch in the 2001 Disney animated feature film Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Michael in the Phineas and Ferb episode "The Curse of Candace". Additionally, he played Michael Chapman in the 1993 Touchstone Pictures film Life with Mikey and Ethan West in the ABC TV show Designated Survivor.
Fox was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the son of Phyllis (née Piper) and William Fox. William was a 25-year veteran of the Canadian Forces who later became a police dispatcher, while Phyllis was a payroll clerk and actress. Fox is of Irish descent; his maternal grandmother was from Belfast, Northern Ireland. His family lived in various cities and towns across Canada due to his father's career. They moved to Burnaby, a city outside of Vancouver, when his father retired in 1971. His father died of a heart attack on January 6, 1990. His mother died in September 2022. Fox attended Burnaby Central Secondary School and has a theatre named for him. At age 16, Fox starred in the Canadian television series Leo and Me, produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and in 1979, at age 18, he moved to Los Angeles to further his acting career. Shortly after his 1988 marriage, he moved back to Vancouver.
Fox was discovered by producer Ronald Shedlo and made his American debut in the television film Letters from Frank, credited under the name "Michael Fox". However, when he registered with the Screen Actors Guild, he discovered that Michael Fox, a veteran character actor, was already registered under that name, which resulted in Fox adding the fake middle initial "J" to his name to avoid confusion.
In 1991, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and has since become an advocate for the disease's cure. Due to his declining health from the disease, Fox officially retired from acting in 2020.
Roles
(Life with Mikey)
Gallery
Trivia
- Fox came up with the fake middle initial "J" because there was already another Michael Fox in the union, and he didn't want magazine headlines to read "Michael A. Fox". He said that the "J" stood for "Jenius".[1]
- James Arnold Taylor replaced Fox as the voice of Milo Thatch in the 2003 sequel Atlantis: Milo's Return for budgetary reasons.[citation needed]
- He was, at one point, considered to voice Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, along with several other actors, but the role was ultimately given to Tim Allen.[2]
- He was also considered for the voice role of Flik in A Bug's Life before Dave Foley was chosen.
- Coincidentally, both Foley and Fox are Canadian actors.[citation needed]
- He was also considered for the voice role of Chicken Little in the 2005 film of the same name, along with Matthew Broderick and David Spade, but Zach Braff was cast in the end.[3]
References
- ↑ "Even Diehard Michael J. Fox Fans Don’t Know His Real Middle Name". CheatSheet (Dec 21, 2020).
- ↑ "To Infinity And Beyond: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Toy Story Movies". Screen Rant (Dec 28, 2019).
- ↑ Hischak, Thomas S. (2011-09-15). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary (in en). McFarland. ISBN 9780786486946.
