The magic of Back to the Future wasn’t just on screen; it was built behind the scenes by creative friction and actors who didn’t seem to get along. Michael J. Fox new book, Future Boy, is an open look at one of the most interesting working relationships in Hollywood.
A young, unique actor named Crispin Glover was cast as Fox on-screen father. Glover approach to the job would leave a lasting mark on everyone who worked with him.
Fox says in the book, “I knew Crispin Glover before Back to the Future.” “I wouldn’t, however, say I was prepared to act with him—there’s no way to prepare for Crispin.”
In fact, the two had met before the famous 1985 time-travel journey. During Family Ties’ second season, Glover had a starring role in the episode “Birthday Boy” as one of Alex P. Keaton’s friends on a road trip. Something unique was clear even back then. Fox remembers that Glover’s performance got “the biggest laughs” of the show because it felt so natural.
“What was interesting about Crispin as an actor was that he didn’t know who was watching.” He didn’t mean to make people laugh. “He was funny by nature, and he killed it on every take,” Fox says. Glover would become known for having that same raw, unexpected energy. “I feel the same about his work in Back to the Future.”
For Fox, working on his first big Hollywood movie meant getting to know the waters with seasoned pros like Christopher Lloyd. After his big break with Family Ties in 1982, the young actor was surrounded by both well-known actors and up-and-coming ones who were all trying to catch lightning in a bottle.
Working with Lloyd made me feel a little better. Fox could guess what his co-star would do, even if the choices were different each time. “I had a sense of what Chris Lloyd was up to with him. He and Crispin never did the same thing twice in the same way. “But because Chris was trained as a theater actor, he was much more locked into the script, so there was always that thing to count on,” Fox says.
Glover, on the other hand, worked in a completely different path. “I had no idea what Crispin would say or do.” I don’t think he knew either.”
The production team didn’t always like how random and uncontrollable it was. “Nobody puts Crispin in a box,” says Fox. The actor brought his own ideas to George McFly, which didn’t always fit with the well-thought-out plans of author Bob Gale and director Bob Zemeckis. “As George McFly, Crispin had his own ideas as to how and where his character should move,” that “often caused tension” at work.
Still, the friction led to something amazing. Fox doesn’t just notice Glover’s work; he’s proud of it. Fox got in touch with his old co-star while doing research for Future Boy.
He says, “I wrote Crispin a letter.” “Every time I see you act, it gets better and more interesting. I actually skip my parts to watch yours. We didn’t talk much during filming, though, so I never got to tell you that I thought you were great as an actress and that I loved working with you. There is no doubt about the praise: “phenomenal in the role.”
The story changes into something sad when it gets to the sequels. Glover did not come back for Back to the Future Part II and Part III, but Fox did. Jeff Weissman from Pale Rider got the part of George McFly instead.
In the past, Glover has been honest about the reason he quit the brand. In an interview with IGN in 2014, he talked about worries that became clear during production. “I didn’t really get to analyze the screenplay until I was actively working on the film,” he said. Once he did, some things bothered him, especially the ending of the movie.
In the final scene, Marty McFly’s time-traveling actions bring his family plenty of financial success. George has done well, and Marty is happy about his brand-new truck.
“I saw that if there was a financial reward, where the son character cheers because he has a truck in the garage, I thought that the moral aspect ends up being that money equals happiness,” Glover said. “I questioned that, and that was met with a lot of hostility and upset.”
Because of those creative differences, “I didn’t end up being in the sequels.” It’s not quite that simple, but I’m sure it had something to do with the fact that I asked these questions.
Back to the Future still fascinates people all over the world, even after all these years. No changes have been made to how famous it is; in fact, new generations keep finding the movie’s quick wit and heart. Crispin Glover gave an unforgettable performance in that timeless movie that even Fox can’t help but watch again and again.
As a warning, the most interesting art is often made by people who aren’t afraid to color outside the lines, even if no one is sure where those lines should be.
