Michael J Fox’s unlikely obsession with Britain’s quaintest TV show: “I love it!”
Michael J Fox doesn’t have the taste one might expect from a quintessential American star.
Any American teenager growing up in the 1980s might remember thinking that Fox is the single coolest person on the planet, an actor who had been such a standout performer on the sitcom Family Ties that he seemed destined for success, gaining the attention of powerful Hollywood figures like Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis.
Both directors were convinced he was the perfect choice to play Marty McFly in Back to the Future, but were initially unable to get him involved because of his commitments to shooting Family Ties, so they moved to alternatives in the form of Eric Stoltz. However, after a significant portion of the film was shot with him as Marty, it was clear to Spielberg and Zemeckis that there was no way to make the film without Fox, and they decided to accommodate their schedules in order to make room for the actor’s commitments to the show.
Although Back to the Future was an iconic franchise that spanned beyond any one individual, Fox would soon become associated with many other all-American roles, playing another teenage underachiever in Teen Wolf, starring in the quintessential New York comedy The Secret of My Success, and playing a fictionalised mayor in the beloved sitcom Spin City. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he became an active proponent of lobbying American legislators to put money into research and medical studies.
Despite the actor’s status as one of the most universally likeable figures in American celebrity culture, his taste in TV is not quite what one would expect from a quintessential American star, as he has admitted to being enamoured with The Great British Baking Show, which, although originating in the United Kingdom as The Great British Bake Off, has become an even greater phenomenon overseas, thanks to its distribution through Netflix.
“I love it!” Fox said, “It’s great. I love Paul Hollywood and the Greek chorus of comics they have presenting the show. I loved the original ones, too; they were wonderful. It’s a great show. It’s fun. I can’t believe how the British eat. I love that stuff. I want to visit Britain, just for the tray of sweets.”
Fox isn’t alone in his love for the quirky baking competition, as it is one of the many international exports that began catching on during the pandemic, when people were stuck in their households and in desperate need of escapism.
Among all the different options of shows to watch on streaming, there was something particularly appealing about a quaint, low-stakes British series that celebrated the art of baking, and given that Covid-19 forced many to start doing more of their own baking for the first time, The Great British Baking Show felt even more relevant.
Although Fox’s opinions are always going to be of interest because of what an icon he has become, he’s been in the spotlight even more due to his recent return to acting. He has only occasionally acted in the wake of his Parkinson’s diagnosis, but recently made a comeback to comedy television in the third season of the Apple TV series Shrinking, created by Ted Lasso showrunner Bill Lawrence.
A light-hearted, optimistic sitcom certainly felt reminiscent of his roots in Spin City and Family Ties, and the show has also offered him an opportunity to work with Harrison Ford, being mutual friends of Spielberg.
