Michael J Fox calls himself a 'f------ idiot' for turning down 'Ghost'
'Back to the Future' actor made revelation to 'The View' co-host Whoopi Goldberg, who won an Oscar for her part in the classic 1990 film
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michael J. Fox is opening up about a career regret.
"There was a chance to work with you that I missed," the "Back to the Future" actor told Whoopi Goldberg. "They talked to me about ‘Ghost’ early on. I said, 'It'll never work.' I said, 'Whoopi's great, but it'll never work.' And then it was great and huge, and I'm a f---ing idiot."
Goldberg, who at first recoiled in surprise at the revelation made on "The View," responded that, "There’s still time. So, yeah, we'll find something to do now."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Goldberg won an Oscar for her performance as Oda Mae Brown in the 1990 romantic fantasy film.
Fox first admitted he turned down the role in an interview last week, reiterating that he "didn’t see how it would work."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It shows I can be an idiot, too," he told Variety.
Fox didn't say what part he was offered in the Patrick Swayze-led film.
Michael J. Fox said he turned down a role in "Ghost." (Getty)
Fox and Goldberg have known each other since the 1980s and attended the Academy Awards show together in 1986.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You did me a solid, you did me a favor," Goldberg said. "And I just asked [to go to the Oscars] out of the blue, and you said, ‘Yes,’ and I went, ‘Oh, OK, thanks, yeah.’ That’s my friend."
The 61-year-old was on "The View" to promote his much-talked about documentary, "Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie," which covers his career and Parkinson’s diagnosis.
"You might as well find something good because it’s a big drain otherwise," Fox responded to Sara Haines after she thanked him for his advocacy about the disease.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox also talked about grabbing free jelly from places like IHOP and Denny’s when he was struggling financially before he was cast in hits like "Family Ties" and "Back to the Future."
Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for her role in the Patrick Swayze-led film. (CBS via Getty Images)
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"It was good, I like jelly," he joked of his starving artist diet. "You do a sweep up past the counter at IHOP or Denny’s or any of those, and you get the jelly, you get the peanut butter."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He mentioned he was forced to go "dumpster diving" to eat sometimes: "Tuesdays, the cookies came out, on the weekend they were no good anymore," he explained of how he survived.
Whoopi Goldberg and Michael J. Fox have been friends since the 1980s. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
During his appearance on the talk show, Fox revealed that the producer of "Family Ties" originally wanted Matthew Broderick instead of him.
"Who can blame him? Matthew Broderick is a very talented actor," Fox said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He said the network hated him and professed, "'You’ll never see him on a lunch box.'"
"In 1987, I got a lunch box made," he laughed while an image of his Alex P. Keaton "Family Ties" lunch box was shown to the audience.
Fox spoke candidally about his disease in a recent interview with CBS Mornings, saying he didn't think he'd live to be 80 years old.
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"[Parkinson’s] banging on the door. … I'm not going to lie, it's getting hard. It's getting harder. It's getting tougher. Every day it's tougher … that's the way it is," he said. "You don't die from Parkinson's. You die with Parkinson's. … I've been thinking about the mortality of it. … I'm not going to be 80. I'm not going to be 80."