At an event in Los Angeles for the show Shrinking, actor Harrison Ford, 82, shared his thoughts on working with his new co-star, Michael J. Fox, 63. Fox is joining the show for its third season, marking his return to acting after retiring in 2020 due to his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Ford admitted that he didn’t know Fox very well before, although they had met a few times over the years. He expressed admiration for Fox and seemed excited about working with him.
Fox’s role in the show hasn’t been revealed yet. This project also reunites him with Bill Lawrence, one of the creators of Shrinking, who previously worked with Fox on the TV show Spin City in 1996.
His willingness to be part of our show is a great source of inspiration and gives us a real purpose. It’s not just us coming together, two actors. There’s a story to tell, and our commitment to the story is what joins us together. I appreciate his willingness to be a part of the show.
Ford tells PEOPLE
In the show, Harrison Ford plays Dr. Paul Rhodes, a therapist who helps others with their mental health while also dealing with his own Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s is a brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination. The disease worsens over time, with some people who have it experiencing mental and behavioral changes, sleep problems, depression, memory difficulties, and fatigue.
according to the National Institute of Aging
Ford said that Fox is happy the Apple TV+ show is helping raise awareness about Parkinson’s disease. Fox has worked for years to bring attention to the condition since revealing in 1991 that he was diagnosed at age 29.
Read More: ‘Shrinking’ season 3 Casts Sherry Cola, Isabella Gomez
Even after his diagnosis, Fox kept acting — he starred in Spin City from 1996 to 2001 and later appeared in The Good Wife. In 2000, he started the Michael J. Fox Foundation to support Parkinson’s research.
I’m sure that there are subtle things that will show up later. When we were together, it was an accomplishment of all of us trying to meet all the ambitions, both obvious and attendant, to the ideas we’re trying to deal with. I’ve done what I could to acquaint myself with the aspects of the disease that I’m portraying, and I’m at a much different stage of the disease. My character’s in a much different stage of the disease than Michael’s. But Michael, as Bill [Lawrence] points out, is totally there on the intellectual level. And emotionally, his humor and his courage are evident. Deadly f—— seriously. There’s no intention to make it into a joke, but there are people that absorb these kinds of experiences with grace and courage and a little bit of wisdom. And that is not to say that some people do not. It’s just to say that this is a person particularly equipped to communicate what it is that it’s like, and that is something that I feel that is worth sharing with our audience.
Asked if working alongside Fox helped his portrayal of the disease, Ford tells PEOPLE. Ford previously told PEOPLE he takes his role in the series
Source: PEOPLE