Michael J. Fox Opens up on Larry King Live

Fox, diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, went on Larry King Live on Wednesday to talk about his new book, "Always Looking Up" according to CNN.

The actor, who is well known for starring in the "Back to the Future" series, addresses the nature of optimism in his book. King asked, "Is it easy to be an optimist?"

"It's just the way I look at life. And it's certainly a challenge now for most people to be optimistic, obviously, with all of the troubles we have and the problems that the country is facing," said Fox.

King also probed into how Fox dealt with his diagnosis, remaining optimistic through the actor's troubled times.

"I was so young, I was 29 years old. And so Parkinson's is not what you expect to hear… I thought the guy was kidding. And then it was shock, and then I had a certain amount of fear and I started to react to it in certain ways. I started drinking more heavily as a way of self medicating it," said Fox.

Fox was diagnosed in 1991 but was not ready to state publicly about his health for another seven years, until 1998.

The interview addressed Obama's lift on the restrictions of stem cell research, something Fox has long been fighting for. King also touched on some details of Fox's wife and family.

Fox is continuing his acting career. It is rumored that he is currently working on a new project, a film called "The Talisman."