Michael J. Fox Opens Up About Battle With Alcohol and Pills to Cope With Parkinson’s Diagnosis: ‘I Didn’t Know What Was Happening’

Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Michael J. Fox recently opened up about his struggles with substance abuse following his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1991.

The actor lays bare the gritty details of his degenerative brain disorder in the new film, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last week. According to USA Today, Fox comes clean about his former dependency on dopamine pills and alcohol.

Fox often masked the increased symptoms of his diagnosis by holding props on film sets to hide his tremors and dopamine pills were taken “like Halloween Smarties (candy)” to help boost his energy while working.

“Therapeutic value, comfort – none of these were the reason I took these pills. There was only one reason: to hide,” Fox said in the film.

“I became a virtuoso of manipulating drug intake so that I’d peak at exactly the right time and place,” he added.

In addition to the pills, Fox also refers to himself as an alcoholic, during this time of his life.

“I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know what was coming. So what if I could just have four glasses of wine and maybe a shot?” Fox said. “I was definitely an alcoholic.”

Fox says he hasn’t had a drink in 30 years.

“As low as alcohol had brought me, abstinence would bring me lower. I could no longer escape myself,” Fox said.

He also turned to packing his schedule and frequent travel as a means of distracting himself.

“You can’t pretend at home that you don’t have Parkinson’s because you’re just there with it. If I’m out in the world, I’m dealing with other people and they don’t know I have it,” Fox said.

The actor credits his wife Tracy Pollan and their children with helping him get sober.

Since then, Fox has worked hard to raise awareness and provide help to others who have been diagnosed with the disorder. He founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000.