Michael J. Fox Says You Had to Be Tougher and Talented to Be Famous in the '80s, Now Anyone Can Do It With Social Media

Michael J. Fox was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s, starring in one of the biggest TV shows, Family Ties, as well as the biggest film franchise, Back to the Future. He went on to have a great film and TV career, and it all started as a talented teen who was loved by the cameras and the fans who watched him. And Fox believes that was an era in which it was a lot more difficult to become that famous.

In a recent interview with People magazine, Fox said the celebrities who became famous during the 1980s were much “tougher” than the ones rising the ranks of stardom now thanks to social media.

“There’s an expression I referred to when they gave me an honorary Academy Award — somebody said to me the day before, they were talking about getting this award and being famous and they said ‘You’re ‘80s famous. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ ‘80s famous. Right, we were different. We were tougher. We didn’t have social media, we didn’t have any of that crap. We were just famous. Left to our own resources. And it was an amazing time.”

When asked if being famous in the 1980s was “harder” than it is now, Fox replied, “Well, you had to be talented. That helped.” He went on:

“We used to bust our ass, our acting muscles and watch other actors and sit around with other actors and talk about acting and talk about it. And now you’ve got people who just go like, ‘Who’s your sweater? What’s your sweater you’re wearing? And what’s that dance step?’ And you’re the most famous person in the world.”

Fox hasn’t acted since 2020 because his Parkinson’s disease made it increasingly difficult to remember dialogue. He told Entertainment Tonight earlier this month that he would consider coming back to acting if the role felt right.

via: Variety