Michael J Fox moved the audience to tears as he took to the Emmys stage to accept the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
The actor, known for his role as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy, received the award for his dedication to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease after being diagnosed in 1991 at the age of 29.
The award recognises outstanding philanthropic efforts and has only been presented six times in Emmys history, with previous recipients including Oprah Winfrey, Danny Thomas, George Clooney, Sean Penn, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.
“I can think of no one more deserving than Michael,” Julianna Margulies said as she presented the award.
The 65-year-old accepted the award from a wheelchair as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
“Thank you to everyone involved for this amazing and humbling honour,” Fox began in his acceptance speech.
“When it starts to get tough, you show up, you help and if you could add a little joy while you’re doing it, that’s even better.”
He spoke about Bob Hope and his dedication to helping people, saying: “I learned from his example. I couldn’t have known how these lessons would resonate in my own life, until my late 20s, when my life handed me a role I wasn’t looking for.”
Fox founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research not long after he went public with his diagnosis and by 2022, the foundation had reportedly committed more funding to Parkinson’s research than the US government.
The actor also opened up on why he kept his diagnosis a secret for seven years.
“Initially I kept my Parkinson’s diagnosis a secret. I worried it would affect my work and relationships with audiences. Would they laugh if they knew I was sick?” Fox admitted.
“I was stunned by the support from all of you, so uplifted and I hadn’t lost what I do.
“They couldn’t take it away from me and it’s because you stood up for me. I understood that accepting Parkinson’s didn’t mean I had to surrender to it.
“It just meant I had to do everything I could for everyone living with this disease.”
The camera panned across the audience who were moved by his speech, with Nicole Kidman spotted with tears in her eyes.
Fox went on to thank his wife and his children for “showing me how it’s done”.
This marks the first time Fox attended the ceremony in 13 years, accompanied by his wife, Tracy Pollan, and their four children.
Fox said that he will continue to advocate for the disease.
“I set out to advocate for Parkinson’s disease and raise money,” Fox said during his speech.
“I found people to lead the effort for me and vowed to fund the best science in the world.
“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made to benefit Parkinson’s patients and families.”
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