BACK TO THE FUTURE Actor Remembers Original Star Eric Stoltz Treating the Cast and Crew "Very Badly" Before Being Replaced
The 40th anniversary of the classic fan-favorite flick Back to the Future was celebrated last year, and it seems like in the past few months, we have heard more stories and details from behind the scenes than ever before.
One new memory comes from Tom Wilson, who played Biff Tannen in the film trilogy, who remembers the first month of shooting, when actor Eric Stoltz (Mask, Some Kind of Wonderful) was in the lead role of Marty McFly.
On a recent episode of Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, Wilson was asked about his experience with Stoltz, and he recalled:
“He was – again, I say, like we were very young men, and it was a long time ago. And I have utmost respect for Eric as a person and his wonderful career and all of those things. But we were young guys together in a thing, and Eric was doing a very, very method-heavy approach to Marty McFly.
“So he was treating me very badly, because he wanted to be called ‘Marty’ by everyone. By everyone. By the hairstylist, the director, everyone. He was trying to embody Marty.”
He went on: “I thought it was odd coming in because he had been in a movie with Leah Thompson. He was supposed to be uncomfortable around her, but to him, she was Leah, and they were all palsy-walsy there, but he’s treating me bad.
“So I thought it was a ‘selective method.’ Back then, I didn’t appreciate that, because I have an instrument too; I’m on this stage as well as you are. We both need what we need to work this scene: I’m not your servant in this scene, where I’m going to act a particular way to make you comfortable.
“We’re here together in order to do this. And I’m not asking you to do anything; to call me anything, to do anything. I’m asking you to know the words and show up here ready to rock.
“And there was a lot of drama and angst and things I think were not productive – as a young man back then – that led to his being replaced.”
While it wasn’t widely disclosed back in the ‘80s, it has been acknowledged since that Stoltz was replaced by Michael J. Fox because of his demeanor.
While Stoltz was a method actor who I’m sure would have produced a solid performance, the studio and those behind the camera were looking for a playfulness that Fox embodied, and we got a movie that has fans spanning the decades because it’s just so good.
Wilson went on to talk about the move from Stoltz to Fox, stating: “I was shocked because it was a big thing for a movie to do that! It was a big thing. So things were getting uncomfortable on the set; in discussions with Bob Zemeckis the director; with Dean Cundey, the cinematographer. Things were unusual, and then everything got shut down. And I thought ‘They’re pulling the plug on the movie.’”
Wilson went on to describe how the director and executives called him down to the Universal Pictures office, making Wilson believe he was about to get fired. Instead, Fox, star of Family Ties, was brought in, and the change was felt by everyone.
“Michael got the script, he understood the vibe of the whole thing… so he got what everyone was doing, myself, Crispin [Glover]… So he came in and took the movie! Took it!
“And so it became what it became… I was so relieved. I was so relieved. Because it just felt like we did a scene together, not that you were doing a thing and I was doing a thing.”
Wilson described the humility that Fox brought to the set, feeling that he had to prove himself as being a TV actor worthy of a big screen leading role, “He was intimidated… He was insecure, which was funny.”
Fox is such a great guy, and his quiet humor is what brought Back to the Future to life in a way I’m not sure anyone else could have. The actor spoke about his experience making the movie in his recent book, Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum, which is a great read, especially for fans of the movies.
via: CB