MIchael J. Fox Bounces Back After Fall at Back to the Future Panel

Michael J. Fox proved he still has plenty of classic showmanship in him when he recovered quickly from a fall onstage at Fan Expo Philadelphia over the weekend. 

Fox was walking onstage to join his Back to the Future co-stars Christopher Lloyd and Tom Wilson for a panel at the annual convention when he paused to bow to both of his fellow actors, then turned to walk over to his seat on a couch. Along the way, the 61-year-old actor tripped and fell face first into the couch, which thankfully broke his fall. In a video obtained by Page Six, Fox could be seen proving to fans that he was OK by not only sitting up from the couch, but bouncing into a standing position before taking his seat.

The fall, along with difficulty walking, is a side effect of Fox's long-term battle with Parkinson's disease, with which he was first diagnosed more than three decades ago. Fox learned he had the illness when he was just 29, in the midst of a hit-packed acting career that at that point already included the blockbuster Back to the Future films. He went public with the diagnosis several years later, stepped back from most full-time acting jobs, and started a foundation devoted to raising funds for Parkinson's research and advocating for Parkinson's patients. 

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Fox has been making the rounds a lot in recent months thanks to the release of the new documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, in which the actor opens up like never before about his life, work, and of course living with Parkinson's. As the documentary shows, falling and potentially injuring himself has become a major concern in Fox's life in recent years, and he's sustained several broken bones and other major injuries due to losing his balance. 

“I’m still happy to join the day and be a part of things,” Fox told Variety earlier this year. “I just enjoy the little math problems of existence. I love waking up and figuring that stuff out and at the same time being with my family. My problem is I fall down. I trip over things and fall down and break things. And that’s part of having this. But I hope that, and I feel that, I won’t break as many bones tomorrow. So that’s being optimistic.”

After his fall over the weekend, Fox, Lloyd, and Wilson had what was by all accounts a delightful reunion panel.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is now streaming on Apple TV+. Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy is available now from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.