Before Michael J. Fox gained fame for his role as Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties, he endured severe financial hardships in Los Angeles. During a conversation with Entertainment Weekly about his memoir Future Boy, Fox recalled the difficult period leading up to his casting in Back to the Future, which he secured after replacing Eric Stoltz. His struggle to survive in the acting world shaped his early career.
You bring yourself into the situation where all your bets are on the table, and you just play your hand,
Fox said.
I was five years into it, I had a bit of success with Family Ties, but I had two years of just dumpster diving and insulting conditions. I was ready for my break.
The Reality of Life as a Struggling Actor
Fox’s challenges originated from his move from Canada to Los Angeles after leaving high school to pursue acting. He openly described his early years in Hollywood as a period of extreme poverty and instability. Fox often found himself scavenging for food and struggling to pay rent, barely surviving day to day.
I was living on the margins,
he told Variety.
I was 18 years old, with no money, no connections, literally dumpster diving for food.
He recounted how he frequently missed auditions due to traveling by bus and sometimes avoided confrontations with his landlord over unpaid rent. The stress of this lifestyle was daunting.
By the spring of 1982, the scenario was grim,
Fox reflected in the documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
I continued to pick up acting jobs, but they barely earned me enough to live on. My agent took 10% of my paycheck. Then there was a photographer, a publicist, or a lawyer.
Near Return to Canada and Financial Desperation
Fox came dangerously close to giving up on his dreams and returning home to Canada. He was so strapped for cash that he sold his sectional sofa piece by piece in order to scrape together money. His attempts to land roles, including in films like Ordinary People, did not pan out, sometimes due to unimpressed directors.
But Robert Redford seemed less than impressed by my reading. He spent the audition flossing his teeth.
Fox described his situation as worse than simply “running out of money.” His survival depended on small change found here and there and scrounging spare packets of jam when meals were out of reach.
I had no money. I was taking jam packets from IHOPs. I’d find quarters and nickels and dimes, and I’d use that to get to the next moment. I was moving beat to beat.
Facing mounting debts including taxes owed to the IRS, and with no phone or reliable means of communication, Fox contemplated working in construction with his brother to sustain himself.
I said, I gotta get out of here. I have no money, and I owe the IRS money, and I’m ducking the landlord, and I got no phone. I mean, I have to walk to the airport.
A Turning Point: The Audition That Changed Everything
Just as Fox prepared to give up and leave Hollywood for good, he landed a crucial audition for Family Ties. Securing this role marked the beginning of his rise to stardom. Within two years, Fox balanced filming Family Ties with his iconic role in Back to the Future, brought in by Universal Pictures. His hectic schedule was demanding but exhilarating.
After years of struggling as an actor, success seemed to have dropped into my lap all at once,
Fox wrote in his memoir Future Boy. What a whirlwind.
Understanding the Toll and Impact of These Early Years
Michael J. Fox’s struggle reveals the harsh realities many actors face behind the scenes, where financial precarity and uncertainty often define the daily grind. His story illustrates how perseverance in the face of desperation can eventually lead to breakthrough success. For Fox, the balance between intense hardship and sudden fame dramatizes the unpredictable nature of the entertainment industry.
His experiences underscore how close he came to abandoning his ambitions and how crucial that turning point was—not just for Fox himself, but for his fans worldwide who would come to admire his talent and resilience.
