Michael J Fox awarded honorary Oscar for Parkinson's advocacy work

Michael J Fox was met with a sustained chorus of cheers and clapping from audience members such as Jennifer Lawrence and Tom Hanks, as he stepped on stage to accept the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 13th Governors Awards.

The actor, who claims familial roots in northern Ireland and Galway, delivered a heartwarming speech that was both comedic, moving, and no doubt memorable- with his jovial spirit earning intermittent laughter throughout his emotional address.

Standing alongside Woody Harrelson whom he was introduced by, Fox greeted the warm reception jokingly, beginning his speech with “guys, you’re making me shake, stop it,”  before turning to Harrelson to add, “we did some damage in the ‘80s.”

Since sharing his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1998, the actor went on to found the Michael J Fox foundation for Parkinson’s Research to help fund the search for a cure in 2000. His foundation has provided more than $1.5 million towards Parkinson’s research.

Best known for his Back To the Future movies, where he starred alongside Christopher Lloyd, and his role in the TV series, Family Ties, the 61-year-old revealed his diagnosis back in 1998, having had to curtail his acting career ever since due to his progression of Parkinson’s.

In his moving speech, an emotional Fox admits that the hardest part was “grappling with the certainty of the diagnosis, and the uncertainty of the situation”, as he hid his disorder for almost 10 years after being diagnosed at the age of 29. “The diagnosis was definite and the progress was indefinite and uncertain.”

"It is humbling in the deepest way to stand here and accept your kindness."

While there is still no cure for Parkinson’s, the Back to the Future star has referred to “Parkinson's as the gift that keeps on taking ... but it truly became a gift.” “It struck me that everything I had been given -- success, my life with Tracy, my family -- had prepared me for this profound opportunity and responsibility,” he said of the establishment of his foundation.

Other recipients of the night included Dianne Warren, songwriter of hits such as Cher’s ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ and Aerosmith’s ‘I Don't Want To Miss A Thing’, director of Dead Poets Society, Peter Weir, and Euzhan Palcy- the first Black woman to direct a major Hollywood film: A Dry White Season.