Director reveals Parkinson’s battle
The 46-year-old Kiwi experienced early onset of symptoms
People used to say I look cool. These days, people ask me why I look so serious. Toa Fraser
Toa Fraser has shared an emotional Twitter thread revealing he has Young Onset Parkinson’s. The Kiwi film director and playwright was diagnosed with the disease five years ago, but he has just shared his diagnosis publicly for the first time.
“People used to say I look cool. These days, people ask me why I look so serious,” he wrote on Twitter. “Mine is one of the many faces of Young Onset Parkinson’s, an (as yet) incurable brain disease.”
Young Onset Parkinson’s refers to those who experience symptoms of the disease before age 50.
The 46-year-old wrote about the early signs he noticed and how it has affected his relationships and family.
“The diagnosis came after years of living with the symptoms, misdiagnoses, and random questions all the time,” Fraser said, adding people would ask him what was wrong with his voice and why he was shaking and looked so nervous.
“Those closest to me have been unfaltering, [discreet] and kind. I’ve also learned not everyone can come on this journey with me,” he wrote, adding he “buried it” as much as he could.
He was inspired to share his diagnosis because April is Parkinson’s awareness month.
“It sucks but it [Parkinson’s] doesn’t define me,” he added. “It affects my movement, but over the last few years of living with it, I’ve worked with some of the world’s best actors, dancers, stunties and athletes all over the world in the pursuit of stories to transcend this bull **** .”
The director is known for several high-profile projects, including the emotional No. 2, his debut feature film released in 2006. It follows the matriarch of a Fijian-Kiwi family who, fearing the family is losing their heart, gathers them together for a feast where she will name her successor.
Since then, Fraser has helmed many notable films and TV series, including The Dead Lands, Daredevil, The Affair, The Rookie, and Titans.
He says the disease makes him a better director. But he also believes there is work to be done to find a cure and tackle the discrimination people who live with Parkinson’s face.
“Today, I’m stepping out to join million of PD warriors with quivering hands who confront this challenge,” he wrote. “And in the meantime, I’m going to keep doing what I do.”