Michael J. Fox has been a "huge inspiration" for Jason Segel

Jason - who starred on 'How I Met Your Mother' from 2005 until 2014 - told People: "I got the chance to tell him that he was a huge inspiration to me while I was in a weirdly similar situation doing 'How I Met Your Mother' and movies at the same time and being tired.

"We always would talk about Michael J. Fox and what he was doing with 'Back to the Future' and 'Family Ties' at the same time. He's an idol for sure."

Bill Lawrence, the co-creator of 'Shrinking', previously revealed that Michael served as the inspiration for the comedy-drama series.

The 56-year-old producer explained that Michael's journey with Parkinson's disease inspired Harrison Ford's on-screen character, who is also battling the neurodegenerative disease.

Bill - who previously worked with Michael on 'Spin City' - told People: "It's cool to get to write about things you care about now. And Michael J. Fox is my first mentor. So we wanted to represent it in hopefully an inspiring and not sad or tragic way."

Bill has been amazed by how Michael has coped with his health struggles.

He shared: "I found the first mentor in my life and career, Michael J. Fox, to be so inspiring with the way he took it in stride and continues to work harder than anybody I know. And we want to kind of carry that spirit if we can into the show."

Meanwhile, Michael previously admitted that his meteoric rise "made no sense" to him.

The actor - who moved from Canada to the US at the age of 18 - initially struggled to find work in Hollywood, but he ultimately shot to international stardom as Marty McFly in the 'Back to the Future' franchise.

He told 'Entertainment Tonight': "I was dumpster diving because I knew the grocery store would throw baked goods out. We'd steal jam and peanut butter from the IHOP or Denny's. It was a tough existence.

"But in a relatively short period of time I was famous and I was the biggest movie star in the world ... It was crazy. It made no sense."