Michael J. Fox still positive about Parkinson's

Michael J. Fox feels Parkinson's has "relieved" him of his vanity.

The 'Back to the Future' actor was originally diagnosed with the disease, which affects the central nervous system, in 1991, but while his battle has been long, he is always upbeat, and says it has changed his focus for the better.

He explained to Good Housekeeping magazine: "One of the great things about Parkinson's, in a superficial way, is it relieved me of vanity.

"I don't worry about what I look like, because it's literally out of my hands.

"But on a deeper level, it gives you a real humility, because you have to deal every day with the fact that you compromise, to a certain extent - so then you explore what that compromise is and 'how am I compromised?' And for everything I can't do, I find that there's another ability that's been developed or another avenue that I've gone down."

The actor also returned to work last year, appearing in several episodes of 'The Good Wife', which he found was a hugely positive experience.

He added: "Career wise, it was great to work again. That was really fun.

"I don't have the physical subtlety that I had before. I don't have the elasticity of expression that I had. But at the same time, this experience has given me a gravitas, a kind of steadiness and a stillness, even in my motion, that I didn't have before. It's really taught me how to be quiet."

Michael, 49, also said he's proud to see how the 'Back to the Future films' - which star him as Marty McFly, who travels through time juggling his past, present and future family - have had an enduring appeal.

He added: "It's funny that a film about multigenerational relationships, characters over a span of generations, has become a film that's popular over a span of generations.

"In fact, we're almost at the place in the future that Marty went to. Fast approaching, and there are no flying cars!"