Michael J. Fox Performs With Coldplay During Surprise Glastonbury Performance

Michael J. Fox speaks onstage during the Clinton Global Initiative September 2023 Meeting at New York Hilton Midtown in New York City on Sept. 19, 2023. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for Clinton Global Initiative)

Michael J. Fox had a special surprise for concertgoers at the Glastonbury Festival in England on Saturday, performing with Coldplay during a portion of the British alternative rock band’s headlining set.

The 63-year-old actor—who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991—took the stage at the popular performing arts festival to play the guitar during Coldplay’s performance of “Humankind,” a song from the band’s ninth studio album, “Music of the Spheres,” released in 2021.

“Here’s another legendary Michael, one who just totally rocks,” the band’s front man, Chris Martin, sang as he welcomed the “Family Ties” star to the stage. Mr. Martin, 47, had previously highlighted various fans in the crowd on the big screen before the cameras panned to Glastonbury’s co-founder, Michael Eavis.

“With his Chuck Berry riff and the way he punched Biff: ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Michael J. Fox,” continued the singer.

“The main reason we’re in a band is because of watching ‘Back to the Future,’” Mr. Martin said after the performance. “So thank you to our hero forever, and one of the most amazing people on earth, Mr. Michael J. Fox.”

The award-winning actor also showcased his musical talents during the band’s performance of “Fix You.” The song, which was featured on Coldplay’s third studio album, “X&Y,” released in 2005, is one of the band’s biggest hits.

Mr. Fox took to Instagram on Sunday to thank Mr. Martin and the band’s other members, including drummer Will Champion, lead guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and creative director Phil Harvey.

“Glastonbury all the love and thanks to the @coldplay team who took such great care of us,” he wrote.

“Oh yeah in case you were wondering…it was [expletive] mind blowing,” the actor continued. “There is a time for every band and a band for every time. This is @coldplay’s time.”

The Grammy Award-winning band also shared a message of gratitude on Instagram after the show, writing: “Thank you Michael J. Fox for making our dream come true.”

Raising Awareness for Parkinson’s

Mr. Fox—who has four children with his wife of 35 years, actress Tracy Pollan—was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a progressive neurodegenerative disease, when he was just 29 years old.

Johns Hopkins Medicine indicates that the average age for diagnosis is about 60 years old. Of the estimated 1 million people who have Parkinson’s, only about 2 percent were diagnosed before the age of 40.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that affects the body’s central nervous system, causing a variety of uncontrollable movements, including shaking or tremors, slowed movement, impaired coordination, and loss of automatic movements, such as blinking or smiling.

There is currently no known cure for the disease. However, medications are available that may help mitigate its symptoms.

Following his 1991 diagnosis, the “Spin City” star went public with his health battle seven years later, going on to launch The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in the fall of 2000 to help find a cure for the disorder. The organization has raised nearly $2 billion since its inception and is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s drug development, according to the foundation.

In 2023, Mr. Fox debuted his documentary, “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” which chronicles the actor’s life and his battle with Parkinson’s disease. According to a synopsis, the film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before its release on Apple TV+, “unspools alongside his never-before-seen private journey, including the years that followed his diagnosis, at 29, with Parkinson’s disease.”

“I decided to create this documentary for a couple of reasons, first bringing awareness to this disease has been very important to me for years and I wanted to continue that work through film,” Mr. Fox told Us Weekly in March ahead of the documentary’s streaming debut.

“The second is for my fans. They, along with my family, [have] been the reason I have been able to go on,” he continued. “As I say, my fans gave me life and I wanted to be open about mine.”

In 2023, Mr. Fox’s organization made headway in its pursuit of a cure, finding a biomarker for Parkinson’s disease that allows doctors to detect the disorder before symptoms arise.

“It was one of the few times I cried about what we were doing,” Mr. Fox told People during an April 2024 interview for the magazine’s 50th anniversary special issue.

“We wanted to find a way that we can diagnose the disease before the symptoms are there. Because then we could treat it, and you'd never have it. It was a big break—and a great moment,” he added.