The 2026 Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, kicked off on Sunday night with messages from various stars, including Kristen Wiig, Teyana Taylor, Delroy Lindo and Kate Hudson, sharing their own “I Am An Actor” memories. But one person got the crowd particularly excited, Canadian actor Michael J. Fox.
“Before I left school, I left school and moved from Canada to L.A. to try to make it as an actor, a teacher of mine told me, ‘Fox, you’re not going to be cute forever,'” Fox recalled. “I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said, ‘Maybe just long enough, sir.'”
“After a few years of dumpster diving in L.A., I ended up on Family Ties where I was given the biggest gift of my career. I met my wife, the actress Tracy Pollan, who played Ellen, my girlfriend. And she gave me four gifts, our kids, Schuyler, Aquinnah, Esmé and Sam.”
Michael J. Fox at the 2026 Actor Awards (Netflix)
Fox went on to say, “I like to remind them, without acting, they wouldn’t be here,” as he pointed to his son, Sam, sitting next to him and said, “By the way, he’s not an actor, he’s my date.”
“I’m Michael J. Fox, I’m a dad, and I’m an actor,” Fox said to conclude his moment.
Harrison Ford and Michael J. Fox in “Shrinking,” now streaming on Apple TV.
Fans of the Apple TV show Shrinking have been enjoying Fox as an addition to the show’s cast, playing a new friend that Harrison Ford’s character Paul makes in the waiting room at a neurology specialist’s office. They bond over their shared Parkinson’s diagnosis, and both are happy to joke about it whenever they can.
“It was a bit daunting when I thought about it, because I am representing a character that has Parkinson’s, and Michael, of course, has the real thing,” Ford said about working with Fox during an Apple TV press day in February. “And I’ve always felt a real sense of responsibility for getting that part of my story right.”
“But Michael is an extraordinary, generous and lovely fellow, who I did not know at all and had a chance to, just working on this show. But it was an extraordinary experience to work with him. He is such a powerful presence. Such grace and courage and indomitability, and some of that, I hope, will help me colour my portrayal of a character with Parkinson’s.”
While Fox isn’t nominated for an Actor Award, Ford is the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award honoree this year.