It’s OK that the future hasn’t been written yet—the present is pretty good in the meantime.

And that’s because Michael J. Fox’s appearance at the 2026 Emmy Awards Sept. 14—his first in 13 years—left the crowd emotional as he accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award during the Mariska Hargitay-hosted ceremony at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre.

The Shrinking actor gave a special shoutout to his wife Tracy Pollan, as well as their kids—son Sam, 37, twin daughters Aquinnah and Schuyler, 31, and daughter Esmé—thanking them “for their sacrifices, for their patience, and for their love.”

The 65-year-old—who entered the stage in a wheelchair—added, “You have no idea.”

“Initially, I kept my Parkinson's diagnosis a secret. I worried that it would affect my work and my relationships with audiences,” he explained. “Would they laugh if they knew I was sick?”

But according to the Back to the Future star, he was “stunned by support.”

“Support from all of you who are so uplifting and just made me feel like I keep doing this,” he said. “I hadn't lost what I do and you couldn't take it away from me. And it's because you stood up for me and I appreciate it. Eventually, I understood that accepting Parkinson's didn't mean I had to surrender to it. It just meant doing what I could for everyone living with this disease.”

Fox also had the chance to put his real life on the small screen as a guest star on Shrinking. While his role as Gerry—a patient of Harrison Ford’s Dr. Paul Rhoades, also navigating Parkinson’s disease—earned him an Emmy nomination, it also marked Fox's first onscreen role since he stepped away from acting in 2020 due to his health.

At the time, he shared that his battle with Parkinson’s, with which he was diagnosed in 1991 at age 29 and made public seven years later, had complicated his ability to memorize lines.

“The nascent diminishment in my ability to download words and repeat them verbatim is just the latest ripple in the pond,” he wrote in a statement. “There are reasons for my lapses in memorization—be they age, cognitive issues with the disease, distraction from the constant sensations of Parkinson’s, or lack of sensation because of the spine—but I read it as a message, an indicator." 

“There is a time for everything, and my time of putting in a twelve-hour workday, and memorizing seven pages of dialogue, is best behind me,” he said, before adding, “At least for now…”

And Fox eventually heard that siren call to return in Shrinking, which also stars Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller and Lukita Maxwell, calling series creator Bill Lawrence—whom he’d first worked with on Spin City—about a potential role.

 “I said, ‘You did a show about Parkinson’s, and you didn’t call me?’ And he said, ‘Oh, you want to do it?’ And I said, ‘I’d love to do it,’” Fox recalled to People in October. “He said, ‘Let me think about it, see what I can do.’ So, he went to work on it.”

That brainstorming resulted in the character of Gerry, who ultimately helps therapist Paul with his Parkinson’s journey as much as Paul helps him. 

For Fox, the time on set was a refreshing breath of fresh air. 

“It was the first time ever I get to show up on-set, and I didn’t have to worry about am I too tired or coughing or anything,” he explained. “I just do it. It was really good.”

To see more winners from the 2026 Emmy Awards, keep reading. 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Sarah Pidgeon, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Constance Zimmer, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program