How the actors of the movie "Back to the Future" have changed 40 years later (13 photos)

Time spares no one... Oh, how young we were...





Michael J. Fox – Marty McFly



Even before joining the main cast of the film "Back to the Future", Michael J. Fox became famous for one of the main roles in the TV series "Family Ties". It is noteworthy that it was because of this series that he initially turned down the role of Marty McFly. The director soon gave Marty to Eric Stoltz, but, disappointed in his comedy talent, or rather lack thereof, he fired the young actor and tried his luck with Fox again. At that time, Back to the Future had already been partially filmed, so the film crew had to try hard to fit into the remaining budget.

Soon, the already famous Michael became even more popular and then appeared in two sequels of Back to the Future. However, after the end of the trilogy, Fox's fruitful career did not last too long. He learned that he had Parkinson's, and was morally depressed. Michael pulled himself together only a few years later, but by that time the symptoms began to manifest themselves more strongly, and eventually everything came to the point that Fox left his acting career. Despite this, he continues to meet with fans, see old friends he made while filming Back to the Future and Family Ties, and tries to stay positive.

Christopher Lloyd – Emmett Brown





Christopher Lloyd was one of the first candidates for the role of Doc Brown, but at first he turned down the offer because he simply did not want to participate. Another candidate was John Lithgow, but he was also unable to play, but for a different reason – he had commitments to other work. After John's refusal, Christopher changed his mind and took on Doc. It's funny that during the filming with Eric Stoltz, he thought his name was Marty. Eric, being a method actor, just like Daniel Day-Lewis and some others, always asked to be addressed by his character's name, even during breaks in filming. When Christopher learned that a certain Eric would be replaced by Michael J. Fox, he asked without a hint of irony: "Who is Eric?"

Although Lloyd's career began in 1961, he made himself known only 14 years later, because before that he played in the theater. 1975 was his film debut - then he played the role of Max Taber in the film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Subsequently, Christopher most often played secondary characters and was considered a character actor. After Back to the Future, he was also remembered by audiences for The Addams Family, Nobody, Dennis the Menace, Interstate 60, and The Mandalorian.

Lea Thompson – Lorraine Baines



Lea Thompson was a little-known aspiring actress when she auditioned for the role of Lorraine in Back to the Future. And it is possible that another actress could have played her if Lea had not lied once. In 1983, she played in the film "Jaws 3" and got the role in them only because when asked about her experience in the cinema, she answered that she had already starred in two films and knew how to water ski, although everything was just the opposite. She had five days left to learn how to water ski and prepare for the filming of a feature film, which she had never been to. Over the next year, she flashed in three more films, gained invaluable experience and, already with it, confident in herself, took the role of Lorraine. Interestingly, "Back to the Future" did not become the main film in Lea Thompson's career. It turned out to be "Howard the Duck", released a year later. In addition, she proved herself in "Something Wonderful", "Red Dawn", "All the Right Moves" and "Dinner in America".

Crispin Glover – George McFly



George McFly was Crispin Glover's sixth role, and his most breakthrough in all his time in cinema, both before and after. However, he did not appear in the sequel. As it turned out, Crispin could not agree with the filmmakers regarding his fee, which he demanded to be increased, and lost his role. Screenwriter Bob Gale convinced everyone else that they could easily cope without Crispin, and he was let go without any problems. However, the way Bob decided to cope with the actor's absence soon backfired on the studio. They took Jeffrey Wiseman and made him up so that he looked like Glover. When Crispin found out about this, he sued the studio and received almost a million dollars from the studio - remarkably, this is how much he asked for his appearance in the second film. Years later, Crispin starred in Willard, Charlie's Angels, and Epic Movie. Interestingly, Crispin only agreed to play the role in Charlie's Angels on one condition - to be given the opportunity to act without words, because the dialogues, in his opinion, were terrible.

Thomas F. Wilson - Biff Tannen



Biff Tannen is based on producer Ned Tannen, who once spoke negatively about the script by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis for the film I Wanna Hold Your Hand. This role was played by Thomas F. Wilson, who was just beginning to establish himself in cinema. Although Thomas's characters are villains throughout the trilogy, Thomas himself is a kind and very modest person, as evidenced at least by the scene in the car between Lorraine and Biff. During a break between takes, Thomas told the actress that he was very sorry, and she had to calm him down, convincing him that she was okay and understood everything. Despite the fact that Wilson became famous for the film trilogy, he later became a star of TV series and voicing cartoon characters. His voice speaks for small heroes and villains in the series "SpongeBob SquarePants", "The New Adventures of Spider-Man", "Batman: The Brave and the Bold", "Adventure Time" and "Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia"

Claudia Wells - Jennifer Parker



The change of actors affected not only George McFly. A similar situation happened with Jennifer Parker, who was initially assigned to actress Melora Hardin, but when Michael J. Fox joined the cast, she was fired because she was several inches taller than him. After that, the role went to Claudia Wells, who was relatively known for minor and episodic roles in various TV series, and Back to the Future was her debut film. However, Claudia's career did not last long. She refused to participate in two sequels due to her mother's illness and left the cinema completely for some time. In 1991, Wells founded her own clothing store and briefly returned to acting to play a cameo role in The Mentalist. She later appeared in two more episodic roles, but no more.

James Tolkan – Strickland



Before becoming an actor, James was a military man, but left this business due to heart problems and went to study at the acting studio. James first appeared on screen in 1960. From then until Back to the Future, he played in more than 20 films, including The Amityville Horror. With the role of Strickland, the actor's demand only increased, and he added Top Gun, Cobra, Blood Ties, Boiling Point and Problem Child 2 to his filmography.

Elisabeth Shue – Jennifer Parker-McFly



When Claudia Wells left Back to the Future, she was replaced by Elisabeth Shue. At the time, Elisabeth was known to younger audiences for her roles in The Karate Kid and Cocktail, so she approached Back to the Future Part II as a bit of a star. Interestingly, Elisabeth faced a similar situation to Claudia. During filming, she lost her older brother and, in order to cope with this, she devoted all her free time to her family. To this end, Elisabeth asked to reduce her role in Back to the Future Part III from a leading role to a supporting one. That's why Jennifer only appears at the very end of the third film. After the films with Michael J. Fox, Elizabeth's career took off - she starred in Leaving Las Vegas, Invisible Man, The Saint, Palmetto, The Trigger Effect and Hide and Seek, and in 2018 and 2019 she appeared in the series Cobra Kai and The Boys.

Elijah Wood - a boy at a slot machine



Back to the Future Part II was the first film for young actor Elijah Wood. After the cameo role, there were films such as Internal Affairs, Avalon, Paradise, High Rising, and, of course, The Good Son, thanks to which Elijah first really made a name for himself. He soon starred in the horror film The Faculty, which took him even further, but this is nothing compared to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the role of Frodo. Elijah set the bar so high that even despite having equally interesting roles in Sin City, I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, Come to Daddy, and Mindhunter: The Battle of the Dead, many still remember him exclusively for Frodo Baggins.

Harry Waters Jr. – Marvin Berry



One of the most comedic storylines in Back to the Future involves musician Marvin Berry, played by Harry Waters Jr. In it, Marty plays Marvin's most popular song, which he hadn't even written yet. Harry's film career lasted until the late 90s and included Big Boys, as well as several other films and TV series. Afterwards, Harry began teaching acting, but he himself no longer played new roles.

Jeffrey Weissman – George McFly



Jeffrey Weissman was unable to make it in the cinema, like some of his colleagues, which is not surprising, because for him "Back to the Future" did not become a calling card, because many people thought that Crispin Glover was on the screen. In 1991, he played in one more film and left big cinema for 10 years, although, even when he returned, he was unable to break through to the top, and many of his roles were minor. Jeffrey found his calling in teaching - he teaches aspiring actors acting, and screenwriters and directors - writing interesting scripts and creating good films.

Mary Steenburgen – Clara Clayton



Among the entire cast of the Back to the Future trilogy, Mary is one of the most famous actresses, although the role of Clara Clayton is far from the main one in her career. Mary is more famous for the films Step Brothers, Elf, The Proposal and Four Christmases, and in recent years she has been remembered by viewers for Book Club, Book Club: A New Chapter and Happiest Season.