Back to the Future Star Unveils Shocking Truth About Original Marty McFly Actor: 'Treating Me Very Badly'
The iconic film Back to the Future is not just a cinematic masterpiece about alternate timelines and hypothetical lives, but it also mirrors real-life multiversal concepts. Little-known to many, Back to the Future almost had a very different cast, with Eric Stoltz originally set to play Marty McFly. Stoltz, who has since enjoyed a successful Hollywood career (notable roles in Mask, The Fly II, Pulp Fiction, Anaconda, The Prophecy, and Jerry Maguire), experienced a career low in the mid-1980s when director Robert Zemeckis replaced him with Michael J. Fox.
In a recent interview on actor Rosenbaum's podcast, Inside of You, Back to the Future star Tom Wilson, who portrayed Biff Tannen, shared his experience working with Eric Stoltz. Wilson revealed that Stoltz's approach to the character of Marty McFly was quite intense and methodical, to the point where he was 'treating me very badly.'
"He was... 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," Wilson began. "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."
The anecdotes about Stoltz's intense portrayal of Marty McFly have become Hollywood legends. Wilson, a stage actor at the time, felt overwhelmed by the more experienced screen actors, especially Stoltz's method acting. "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-wowsy there, but he’s treating me bad," Wilson explained. "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."
Back to the Future had been filming for over a month when Stoltz was fired, making it one of the most unusual late-game substitutions in major film history. "I was shocked because it was a big thing for a movie to do that! It was a big thing," Wilson confirmed. "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 then described how the director and executives called him down to the Universal Pictures office, leading Wilson to believe he was about to be fired. Instead, Fox, a TV star, was brought in, and the change was immediately felt. "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 explained.
Wilson highlighted the humility and insecurity that Fox brought to the set, which he found amusing. "He was intimidated... He was insecure, which was funny."
Back to the Future remains a legendary film and trilogy, and it's available for streaming on platforms like Roku and Sling TV. Fans are encouraged to share their favorite moments and trivia from the film on the ComicBook Forum. The story of the film's production, including the replacement of Eric Stoltz with Michael J. Fox, adds to the rich tapestry of Hollywood history and the challenges faced by young actors in the industry.
