Over a decade after Spin City ended its five-year run, Michael J. Fox is coming back to network TV. Last fall, NBC announced that it had picked up a new network comedy starring Michael J. Fox. The actor will star in a role that mirrors his own life, including his Parkinson’s Disease.

Fox took to the pages of the latest issue of AARP The Magazine to reveal where he’s at in life, his marriage, and his struggles with his disease.

“I’m always aware that there are others who don’t feel so good and can’t express themselves the way I can,” Fox told the AARP. “That’s no small factor in the way I’ve been able to deal with this.”

Fox stated that his sense of humor has been paramount to dealing with his long-term condition, but that it is sometimes a struggle. He and his wife, Tracy Pollan, have four children, who are learning early the virtue of patience.

“Sometimes the kids will need their dad’s help and he’ll say, ‘I’m not feeling great right now,'” said Pollan. “But on the flip side, the first thing he does is go back to the kids when he’s feeling good. It teaches them patience and empathy.”

On playing a role that is so similar to his own life, Fox mused that his Parkinson’s is too far progressed to ignore, saying, “It’s too difficult to hide it. I could manage it for a scene or so, but it would fall apart over time. As long as I play a guy with Parkinson’s, I can do anything.”

(Image via Twitter)