Michael J Fox has stayed upbeat over the past 30 years despite battling Parkinson's Disease.
The longtime movie star has told AARP The Magazine that he has found purpose and joys despite living with the disease.
And he has also said he was able to cope with recovering from a shattered left arm that required a steel plate and 19 screws to repair it.
Overcoming the pain: Michael J Fox has stayed upbeat over the past 30 years despite battling Parkinson's Disease. The longtime movie star has told AARP The Magazine that he has found purpose and joys despite living with the disease
Fox, 60, is married to actress Tracy Pollan, 61, who played his girlfriend in the sitcom Family Ties, and they have four children: Sam, 32; twin daughters Aquinnah and Shuyler, both of whom are 26; and daughter Esme, 20.
The Back To The Future actor, who has retired from the profession, told AARP that he's stayed positive despite the tough times.
'As I came through that darkness, I also had an insight about my father-in-law, who had passed away and always espoused gratitude and acceptance and confidence,' Fox said in the wide-ranging interview that was profound yet funny at times.
'And I started to notice things I was grateful for and the way other people would respond to difficulty with gratitude,' he added.
'I concluded that gratitude makes optimism sustainable,' the actor said.
Happy couple: The Back to the Future actor, who has retired from the profession, told AARP that he's stayed positive despite the tough times. Fox is married to Family Ties
