Back to the Future star Lea Thompson didn’t warm quickly to co-star Michael J. Fox. Although Fox’s name is synonymous with Marty McFly, there was a different actor portraying the iconic character when shooting for the film began. Although Fox was the first choice for Marty McFly his Family Ties schedule restricted him from starring in the movie, so Eric Stoltz was cast in the lead role. As production moved forward, director Robert Zemeckis just did not think he was the right fit for the part, and with Fox’s Family Ties schedule reworked, Stoltz exited the movie, and Fox officially joined.
This shift caused some apprehension in Thompson, who portrayed the teenage version of Lorraine Baines, the character that grows up to be Marty’s mother. During a recent appearance on the Still Here Hollywood podcast, host Steve Kmetko asked the Caroline in the City actress if she and Fox had immediately hit it off:
Probably not because I was friends with Eric Stoltz, who had just gotten fired.
Besides Stoltz recasting (the two had previously collaborated on 1984’s The Wild Life and would go on to collaborate for 1987’s Some Kind of Wonderful), Thompson says there was a divide between movie and television stars at the time. Fox was most known for Family Ties, a stark difference from Stoltz’s resume, with him already appearing in popular films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Mask (which earned him a Golden Globe nod).
“I remember specifically being really snooty because there was a big division between movie stars and TV stars at that point. I remember being like, ‘He’s just a TV star, and I’m a movie star. I was in
Jaws 3D
.’ So, I think it took me a while to warm up to him, but he was so funny and so fun to act with.”
Back to the Future and Michael J. Fox’s Success
Back to the Future went on to be a major success for Universal Pictures, as it grossed over $381 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1985. It was praised for its imaginative storytelling, special effects, and performances, and received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. It spawned two successful sequels, with Fox and Thompson appearing in all three movies, alongside Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson, and James Tolkan. Today, it remains a beloved classic.
Back to the Future catapulted Fox into international stardom, with the film’s success and his charismatic performance solidifying his status as one of Hollywood’s leading men. Along with the Back to the Future sequels, he starred in films including Doc Hollywood, Teen Wolf, The Secret of My Success, and For Love or Money. Fox last appeared in the 2023 documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which details his life and struggles with Parkinson’s disease.
Thompson shared that now, she still sees Fox a few times a year at conventions:
“So, I see him in the weirdest situation ever, which is, like, in front of 3,000 people. And sometimes we go out to dinner, the group of us. That’s really nice to see him.”
Thompson, who starred in Switched at Birth from 2011 to 2017, will next star in another family mix-up project: the drama What If, alongside Leanne Melissa Bishop, Aaron Ashmore, and Kevin Pollak.