TORONTO - Michael J. Fox is better known these days for his activism and eternal optimism but he proved Thursday that he's still a TV star.
The affable Canadian actor earned his 11th Emmy nomination for his turn as a foul-mouthed paraplegic on Showcase's dark series, "Rescue Me," an acclaimed return to the small screen that came several years after Fox had all but retired from acting.
The 48-year-old actor was among several Canadians to garner kudos for their TV work, including Sandra Oh for "Grey's Anatomy," Kiefer Sutherland for "24: Redemption" and William Shatner for his role on the defunct series, "Boston Legal."
Shatner expressed his gratitude in a Twitter post soon after the announcement was made out of Los Angeles.
"What a fitting tribute to a unique show," wrote Shatner, who racked up his seventh nomination. "The Emmy would enter a pantheon to memorialize a wonderful television event."
This year's frontrunners include the TV satire "30 Rock," and the slick period drama, "Mad Men," produced by the Vancouver-based entertainment company Lionsgate.
"Mad Men" drew 16 nods, while Lionsgate's pot-laden dramedy "Weeds," earned six nominations.
"This is a very exciting day for us at Lionsgate," Kevin Beggs, president of television programming and production said in a release.
Meanwhile, the fantasy series "Sanctuary," commissioned by Canada's Movie Central and The Movie Network in collaboration with Syfy, formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel, is up for best special visual effects for a series.
Fox's nomination comes after the popular actor had basically put his acting career aside to focus on his Parkinson's foundation and become an outspoken advocate of stem-cell research.
In recent years, Fox has limited himself to voice-over work and guest-starring roles on "Scrubs" and "Boston Legal." Earlier this year, he landed on bestseller lists with his hopeful memoir, "Always Looking Up."
That was followed up with the TV special, "Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist," back in May, and a round of TV interviews that revealed the effects of a condition that makes it difficult for him to sit or stand still and causes near-constant shaking.
Fox was nominated for an Emmy 10 times between 1985 and 2000, and won three times for his role as Alex Keaton on "Family Ties" in the late '80s and once for "Spin City" in 2000.
The character he plays on the firefighting drama "Rescue Me," was unlike any he had tackled before, a paraplegic named Dwight. It was Fox's first return to TV since a 2006 spot on "Boston Legal," for which he also earned an Emmy nomination.
The Emmys air Sept. 20 on CBS and CTV.
