A First Look at Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford’s Next Must-See Project

The Shrinking stars have paired up again on a campaign for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford might both be nominated for Emmy Awards for their work on Shrinking, but that isn’t where the collaboration between the two screen legends—who both play characters with Parkinson’s on the hit series—ends. The pair also appear together in a new campaign for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the 26-year-old nonprofit focused on Parkinson’s, and T&C has a first look here.

The video, which was created by Maximum Effort, the entertainment company helmed by MJFF board member Ryan Reynolds, focuses on the conversations we have around issues like Parkinson’s and what it means to actually offer support to friends and family members experiencing it—which might look different than you’d think.

“As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized social connections mean so much—Parkinson’s or not,” Fox tells T&C. “Shooting Shrinking with Harrison and the friendship we've developed reminded me how important those connections are. I hope the authenticity of our friendship comes through in the campaign. We’re using humor and banter to get at what matters. But there’s tremendous seriousness of purpose behind it. We want the community to know that as long as Parkinson’s exists, the Foundation will be here to support everyone living with the disease. The challenges are real, but knowing you’ve got someone in your corner makes a huge difference. And that’s why this campaign is so important.”

Ford says, “Michael has a remarkable way of making difficult things easier to talk about, and that’s part of what makes working with him and being his friend so special. We wanted to bring some of that honesty and humor to a conversation that a lot of people may not know how to have.”

In addition to his Emmy nomination for his work on Shrinking, Fox will also be honored with this year’s Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, a special accolade previously awarded to Oprah Winfrey, Danny Thomas, George Clooney, Sean Penn, and Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. Of course, Fox’s philanthropy is widely known; he was on the cover of T&C’s 2023 November issue in support of his philanthropic work, which stems from the diagnosis he received when he was just 29 years old. For that story, he said, “When I went public, I felt like I stood there naked in the town square and said, ‘Look at me. This is what it is.’ What I didn’t realize was how many other people had been dying to do that.”

In recent years, the foundation had reportedly allocated more money to Parkinson’s research than the U.S. government and as of 2022 was supporting more than $3 billion in research programs—and this new campaign is the next step toward reaching its goals. Debi Brooks, the foundation’s CEO and cofounder, says, “The world has taken notice of the special relationship between Michael and Harrison. Our brand campaign combines humor and compassion to highlight the very serious purpose behind our work. It has been a joy to see these Hollywood giants come together to capture attention and channel it toward what matters most: bringing greater awareness and support to people and families living with Parkinson’s.”

Asked what people can say to a friend, Fox shares this advice: ‘Just saying, ‘I got you, I have your back,and I always will’ means everything. Keep showing up!”

Adam Rathe is Town & Country's Deputy Features Director, covering film, theater, books, travel, art, philanthropy, and a range of other subjects.

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