‘Back to the Future‘ is a classic in the truest sense. This 1985 science fiction film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd in the lead roles. It is often regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction films and among the best films ever made.
Fox became an overnight sensation right after this film. However, things would have been entirely different as Eric Stoltz was supposed to play the role of Marty McFly. Let’s find out how Fox bagged the iconic role after its lead was fired from the film.
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How Michael J Fox Bagged ‘Back To The Future’?
Fox achieved global stardom for playing the role of Marty McFly in the sci-fi classic ‘Back to the Future.’ However, he was not the original actor for that role. Let’s find out what happened.
According to The Daily Express, Fox bagged the role only after Eric Stoltz had spent weeks on set, but he was not the only cast member to be switched out.
He was a relatively unknown actor at that time with credits like ‘Midnight Madness‘ and ‘Class of 1984‘ in his credit. The film’s director Robert Zemeckis was struggling to get it greenlit; he was reportedly rejected by 30 studios.
It was eventually picked by Universal Studios and its President Sidney Sheinberg wanted to cast Eric Stoltz as McFly. Robert had no choice but to follow his orders and thus Stoltz came on board.
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Stoltz’s Approach Resulted In His Firing
The film was intended to be a sci-fi comedy, but Stoltz read the script with a serious tone. Soon, creative differences emerged between him and Robert. This was combined with the fact that Stoltz was a method actor.
Stoltz only answered McFly’s name and wore the character’s clothes most of the time. His co-star Thomas F Wilson, who played Biff Tannen, was not a fan of this method.
Reports state that Stoltz did the role for six weeks before being replaced by Fox who had to re-shoot all the scenes. Fox had earlier lost the project because of scheduling conflicts with the sitcom ‘Family Ties.’
This was solved and Fox then went on to star in all the films in this trilogy. From an unknown actor to a global star, this was the story of Michael J. Fox.
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