Michael J Fox reveals he went dumpster diving for food before he became famous

Michael J Fox in a scene from the documentary "Still: A Michael J Fox Movie". Photo / Apple TV+ via AP

Michael J Fox went “dumpster diving for food” because he was so broke before finding fame.

The Back To The Future star has revealed he struggled to pay his bills during his early days in Hollywood as he attended rounds of auditions but only managed to land bit parts.

Fox says he often went scavenging in bins as he didn’t have the money to buy food despite landing his first feature film role in 1980 movie Midnight Madness.

In an interview with Variety, he explained: “I was sitting around with all these actors, and I remember thinking: ‘Why is this going to work for me and not for them?’

”It’s not that I wished them unhappiness or bad luck - I wished them all the success in the world. But I knew I was going to make it. God knows why. I was living on the margins. I was 18 years old, with no money, no connections, literally dumpster diving for food.”

Fox went on to land a regular role in sitcom Family Ties before being catapulted to fame in 1985 film Back To The Future which he filmed while working on the TV show.

Michael J Fox, right, in a scene from the 1985 film "Back To The Future". Photo / Supplied

The actor ended up working on Family Ties during the day and shooting the movie at night - meaning he got very little sleep.

However, he’s convinced it actually helped make his Back To The Future character, Marty McFly, more convincing.

He explained: “I was running on adrenaline. I barely knew where I was, and I didn’t really know what I was doing. That served the film because Marty’s supposed to be disoriented.”