Inside Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's battle: How Back to the Future heartthrob, 62, hid diagnosis from the public for 7 years and turned drink to cope before dedicating his life to finding a cure - as he delights Glasto crowd by joining Coldplay

As Coldplay's Chris Martin announced to Glastonbury Festival that the band had been inspired by legendary 80s flick Back To The Future, the crowd couldn't possibly have predicted the band's special guest would be the iconic film franchise's main star.

But as Michael J. Fox, who is now a wheelchair user, took to the stage and joined the band for Fix You and Humankind, the crowd went wild.

It was a moment that will go down in the history of the festival as the much-beloved 62-year-old actor, who has battled Parkinson's disease for three decades, wowed the crowd on guitar.

And the rousing reception he received reflects a wider public adoration of the actor, who shot to fame as an instant heart throb in the 1980s and has battled the degenerative illness since he was just 29 years old.

Michael J Fox shot to fame as an instant heartthrob in the 1980s after playing Marty McFly in Back to the Future - but after being diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 29, he  has

The stoic father-of-four hid his condition from the public for seven years after he was diagnosed in 1991, but since revealing his Parkinson's battle, he has battled it with grace and honesty.

In recent years, his public appearances have become more scarce - but that only increases public enthusiasm when he pops up at public events. 

In February, he was applauded in a standing ovation as he took to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall at the BAFTAs, at which he was nominated for an Apple TV+ documentary about his illness, Still: A Michael J Fox Story.

After arriving on the stage in a wheelchair, Fox made his way to the podium to announce the winner of Best Film, earning a hugely warm reception from the star-studded audience in London's Royal Festival Hall.

The Hollywood legend delighted crowds at Worthy Farm last night as he joined Coldplay onstage

After arriving on the stage in a wheelchair, Fox made his way to the podium to announce the winner of Best Film, earning a hugely warm reception from the star-studded audience

The actor, who has battled Parkinson's since 1991, was helped to the podium to announce that Best Film had been awarded to Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer

Since being diagnosed, Fox has been praised for his tireless work fundraising in a bid to find a cure for Parkinson's. He founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation to aid research efforts.

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder causing tremors and, when the disease has matured, the loss of motor skills. 

In a candid interview with People magazine in 2018, he told of how he took to drinking after the devastating diagnosis and the effect it had on his marriage to American actress Tracy Pollan.

Fox said that he was drinking heavily and hiding the wine bottles from his wife because he found it too hard to cope with his new illness.

It caused friction with Tracy, with whom he shares son Sam, twin daughters Schuyler and Aquinnah, and daughter Esmé.

'I was isolating myself from my family,' said the Teen Wolf star.

His wife added: 'It was scary because you just don't know how it is going to turn out.'

One morning when she found him passed out on the floor, she let him know she was over it. Instead of being angry, she looked 'bored' with it all, he said.

She asked him, 'Is this what you want? Is this what you want to be?' She then walked out the door.

Since being diagnosed, Fox has been praised for his tireless work fundraising in a bid to find a cure for Parkinson's. He founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation to aid research efforts

A documentary chronicling Michael's 30-year battle with Parkinson's disease, titled Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, was released in May 

In 2023, the star released an Apple TV+ documentary about his life in film and his diagnosis

Fox and his wife, American actress Tracy Pollan. In 2018 he told People that his drinking after he was first diagnosed caused issues within his marriage

So the actor then decided his path was to help others so he launched his foundation to collect money for Parkinson's research.

Fox retired from acting in 2020 due to his symptoms, and he confessed that life with Parkinson's is 'getting tougher; every day it gets tougher,' in an interview with CBS Sunday Mornings  last year.

On top of dealing with the incurable disease, the actor has also had number of other serious health concerns and injuries over the years.

'I had spinal surgery. I had a tumor on my spine. And it was benign, but it messed up my walking. And then, started to break stuff,' he shared, before revealing a series of scary injuries.

'Broke this arm, and I broke this arm, I broke this elbow. I broke my face. I broke my hand. Which is a big killer with Parkinson's.

'It's falling and aspirating food and getting pneumonia. All these subtle ways that get you,' he explained.

'You don't die from Parkinson's. You die with Parkinson's. So I've been thinking about the mortality of it. I'm not gonna be 80. I'm not going to be 80,' he said.

Speaking to the BBC in light of the documentary's nomination, Fox said: 'I would say it's a gift and people would look at me and I'd say it's a gift that keeps on taking, but it's a gift.'

Since being diagnosed, he has been praised for his tireless work fundraising in a bid to find a cure for Parkinson's.

Fox said that he was drinking heavily and hiding the wine bottles from his wife because he found it too hard to cope with his new illness at the beginning

The actor then decided his path was to help others so he launched his foundation to collect money for Parkinson's research. Picture with his wife in November 2022

He said: 'I realised I had to turn it around and turn it into something and make it some positive thing that affected other people in a positive way.

'So I think that's why I started the foundation, but it took me a long time to get there.'

In his documentary, which was released in May 2023, Fox looks back on his blockbuster career with director Davis Guggenheim and shares how he first noticed the signs of what would be diagnosed as Parkinson's disease.

He said the documentary is about when 'an incurable optimist meets an incurable disease' as he spoke about his battle with the condition.

On why he concealed his Parkinson's for so many years, Fox said: 'Yeah I didn't know what it was going to do, how it was going to manifest itself.

'I didn't know what to expect and no one could really tell me what to expect.'

In his documentary, he detailed the devastating moment in which he revealed the diagnosis to his wife of 35 years and how she vowed to support him all along the way.

Fox, who continued to act for years, recalled: 'I told Tracy the news. "In sickness and in health," I remember her whispering.'

He added that 'no one outside my family' knew of his diagnosis and he took pills to 'hide' his symptoms.

The actor did not specify if it was were recreational or prescription drugs that he was self-medicating with.

In November, Fox revealed he 'does not fear death' as he reflected on his 30 year battle with Parkinson's disease in a candid interview with Town & Country.

He said: 'One day I’ll run out of gas. One day I’ll just say, "It’s not going to happen. I’m not going out today". If that comes, I’ll allow myself that. I’m 62 years old.

'Certainly, if I were to pass away tomorrow, it would be premature, but it wouldn’t be unheard of. And so, no, I don’t fear that'.

Reflecting on what does scare him, the Hollywood legend brought to mind the safety of his wife, Tracy Pollan, and their four children - Sam, Aquinnah, Schuyler and Esme.

'Anything that would put my family in jeopardy,' he said.