Michael J. Fox had fans concerned after he fell onstage during a "Back to the Future" panel at a convention.
The incident happened Sunday at the Fan Expo in Philadelphia, where the actor, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at age 29 in 1991, appeared alongside his former co-stars from the film franchise for a Q&A at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, according to the New York Post.
As Fox walked on stage after being introduced to the panel, he lost his balance, tripped over his feet, and fell into a couch on stage. He bounced back up soon after the tumble to show the crowd that he was uninjured.
Fox recently discussed his battle with Parkinson's, which he admitted has gotten harder in recent years.
"I'm not going to be 80," Fox, 61, said in an episode of "CBS Sunday Morning." "I'm not gonna lie. It's getting hard, it's getting harder. It's getting tougher. Every day it's tougher."
Fox also said he had undergone surgery for a benign tumor on his spine, which "messed up my walking."
"Now I break stuff," he said, according to The Washington Post. "This arm and this arm, this elbow. I broke my face. I broke my hand from falling."
Fox noted that falling is "a big killer" for people with Parkinson's.
"All these subtle ways it gets you," he said. "You don't die from Parkinson's. You die with Parkinson's."
Earlier this year, Fox also spoke candidly about his diagnosis, but the message he conveyed was that the was not going to let it stop him from living.
"Parkinson's sucks — but it's a great life," he said while sitting on stage next to Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim to promote their new documentary, "Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie," at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, according to the New York Post.
"I have no regrets," Fox continued. "You do what you have to do, but you do not want to kill yourself. And that's when I stopped."
When asked how he "mobilized" people to have awareness of Parkinson's disease, Fox said he simply "didn't have a choice."
"This is it. I have to give everything I have, and it's not lip service. I show up and do the best I can," he said. "Pity is a benign form of abuse. I can feel sorry for myself, but I don't have time for that."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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