Season 3 of Shrinking brought on a major new cast member this year, as Michael J. Fox joined the ensemble to play Gerry, a man who has Parkinson’s and interacts with Harrison Ford’s character Paul. Since day one, Paul has been dealing with the disease Fox has in real life, and now, the Back to the Future star has opened up about why Ford’s portrayal of Paul and Parkinson’s brought him to “tears.”
In the Season 3 premiere of Shrinking, which just premiered on the 2026 TV schedule and is available to stream with an Apple TV subscription, Paul meets Fox’s character Gerry at the doctor’s office. They talk about Parkinson’s, and over the course of the episode, it becomes very clear that this disease is impacting Harrison Ford’s character in a significantly bigger way than it has in past seasons. Speaking to how the Star Wars star portrays what life with Parkinson’s looks like, the Spin City star told Vanity Fair:
That’s one thing that’s amazing about Harrison. He doesn’t have Parkinson’s, but he’s a brilliant actor. I don’t have to convince him I have Parkinson’s, but he had to convince me he had Parkinson’s. What I wasn’t prepared for was how much of his own understanding of the disease he brought to it. I mean, I recognized Parkinson’s in his eyes. The things I was feeling, I recognized in the way he was expressing himself.… I was just brought to tears by it.
Earlier in this interview, Fox candidly explained that while therapy has helped him out a lot, people with Parkinson’s will oftentimes find themselves “educating the therapist as much as they’re educating [them].” This led to a point being made in the story about just how hard it’d be to “accurately depict” Parkinson’s on screen if the person portraying it hasn’t personally experienced it. However, clearly Harrison Ford has figured it out.
It’s seriously high praise to have Michael J. Fox, a man who has lived with Parkinson’s for decades and is one of the most prominent advocates for folks with it, compliment Ford’s performance. He knows exactly what Paul is going through, and he’d know if the actor’s performance wasn’t correct. So, to hear that the Indiana Jones star’s performance was both accurate and emotional is incredible.
However, the compliments don’t stop there, because this is a two-way street. Right after Fox explained why Ford’s Emmy-nominated performance brought him to tears, the 1923 star gave the praise right back, saying:
Ladies and gentlemen, Michael J. Fox in a nutshell, generous, supportive, open, just a wonderful person. And pretty goddamn good actor too. It’s a daunting disease and also a daunting job to represent it in an appropriate way. It was a very important experience for me to have. I have other friends who have Parkinson’s in various degrees and they find themselves in a different condition than Michael is. Michael is an extraordinarily powerful person.
When Fox’s involvement in Shrinking was announced, Harrison Ford explained that he was an “essential” addition to the show. Specifically, he explained that The American President actor’s “courage,” “fortitude,” and “grace” are on “full display” in the show, and that the way he carries himself in his life is a great example for everyone.
So, all around, it’s very clear that these two legends adore each other and are quite inspired by each other’s work too. It’s so lovely, it’s bringing me to tears. Now, I really can’t wait to see how Gerry and Paul’s relationship develops as Shrinking continues to drop new episodes every Wednesday.
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