Michael J. Fox says going to the bathroom is a 'life or death experience'

Michael J. Fox has opened up about the difficulties of living with Parkinson's disease in a new interview, claiming that his illness makes life so hard that just going to be bathroom can be perilous for him.

The Back To The Future actor discussed his condition in a recent interview on BBC Breakfast, where he made an appearance to promote his new book, titled There's No Time Like The Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality.

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Speaking with interviewer Charlie Stayt, Fox stated that, despite his Parkinson's diagnosis and the impact it has had upon his life, he generally manages to maintain a positive attitude.

When asked how he felt, Fox said:

"I would tend to say great. Other days I might say pull up a chair. Generally, I feel good. I’m a happy guy, and generally, people can tell by my face I’m doing alright."

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But then he opened up about some of his struggles with the disease, stating: "Going to the bathroom is an existential experience. It’s life or death, it’s really risky. I could trip across the room because there are so many obstacles, so many potential threats."

He also elaborated on the fall he took in his apartment while working on a Spike Lee film, recalling:

"I woke up in the morning and the first thing I did was fall in the kitchen and shatter my arm.

"I sat on the floor waiting for the ambulance to come. I had dealt with Parkinson’s all these years and it was fine, but this was so stupid, so idiotic."

The actor, who has raised millions of dollars for Parkinson's research through the Michael J. Fox Foundation, has recently revealed that he plans to retire from acting due to his declining health.

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Per People Magazine, in his new memoir, the 59-year-old Canadian actor writes: "The nascent diminishment in my ability to download words and repeat them verbatim is just the latest ripple in the pond.

"There are reasons for my lapses in memorization - be they age, cognitive issues with the disease, distraction from the constant sensations of Parkinson's, or lack of sensation because of the spine - but I read it as a message, an indicator.

"There is a time for everything, and my time of putting in a twelve-hour workday, and memorizing seven pages of dialogue, is best behind me, at least for now."