Michael J. Fox and Lea Thompson delivered unforgettable performances in ‘Back to the Future‘ as Marty McFly and Lorraine Baines. But off-screen, things didn’t click right away. When Fox joined the film under tense circumstances, Thompson wasn’t so welcoming.
But as Fox now reveals, it didn’t take much to turn things around. All he needed was one perfectly timed joke, and it completely changed the tone of their working relationship.
Lea Thompson Wasn’t Happy With Marty McFly’s Casting Change
Fox joined ‘Back to the Future‘ late into production, when he replaced Eric Stoltz, who had already filmed scenes as Marty. The switch wasn’t easy on anyone, and it especially affected Lea Thompson, who had grown close to Stoltz after working with him in the 1984 film ‘The Wild Life.’
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In interviews and his new book ‘Future Boy,’ Fox revealed that Thompson kept her distance when he first arrived on set. She had been upset about Stoltz being replaced and didn’t think much of Fox. Back then, Fox was best known as a sitcom actor from ‘Family Ties.’ Fox said Thompson believed he didn’t belong in a film and viewed him as “an imposter.”
Thompson herself later admitted to Fox that she wasn’t thrilled to work with a TV actor and felt bitter about losing her friend from the film. Fox, however, didn’t immediately notice her attitude. He was juggling both ‘Back to the Future‘ and ‘Family Ties‘ at the same time, filming day and night, and said he was too consumed with his own stress to notice how others felt around him.
As someone who had missed pre-production, Fox didn’t have time to build chemistry with the cast. He said he had to dive right in and hoped that his energy would somehow match.
How Michael J. Fox Charmed ‘Back To The Future’ Leading Lady
Fox recalled the moment when he spoke about ‘Future Boy.’ The scene was the one where Marty first meets Lorraine after getting hit by a car and waking up in her bedroom. In a bit of spontaneous comedy, Fox had Marty fall out of bed. Director Robert Zemeckis had laughed and said, “Get the man a cushion next time.”
Seeing the scope of the connection and the laugh, Fox took a small moment in the script and decided to tweak it. Originally, when Marty asked Lorraine where his pants were, she was supposed to respond with, “Over here!” But Fox pitched a funnier version, “Over there, on my hope chest.”
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Even though it was only his second night on the job, Zemeckis agreed to let them try it. Thompson delivered the new line with perfect comedic timing. Fox remembered that clearly and said, ”She did it so good… it was dynamite, and I knew I was in.” That moment changed everything. Fox said joking around was second nature to him because of his experience on sitcoms. And for Thompson, the laugh was all it took to start warming up.
That one joke helped turn things around. After that, the tension began to fade, and a friendship started to form. Fox wrote in Future Boy that it wasn’t easy stepping into a production already in progress. But finding that common language helped him settle in.
