Michael J. Fox took quite a long while to finally reach out to Eric Stoltz, the actor he replaced in Back to the Future. The actor discussed this in his memoir, Future Boy. There, he explained how nervous he was to reach out to Stoltz.
Fox released his memoir on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
Michael J. Fox discusses meeting Eric Stoltz in new memoir
Back to the Future became the biggest film in Fox’s career and the one that people will remember him by for decades to come. But he wasn’t the original choice to play the protagonist. The filmmakers originally cast Eric Stoltz to play Marty McFly. He even began filming before the filmmakers fired him and replaced him with Michael J. Fox.
Forty years after this, Fox finally reached out to Stoltz. He explained in his memoir (via EW), “Eric has maintained his silence on the subject for forty years, so I was prepared for the likelihood that he’d prefer to keep it that way.” He further added, “If your answer is ‘piss off and leave me alone’…that works, too.” Here, he referenced the swap that possibly changed both their careers.
Fox recalled Stoltz’s reply in the memoir, “[Stoltz’s] beautifully written reply began, ‘Piss off and leave me alone!’ Thankfully, this was followed by ‘I jest…’ Eric was thoughtful about my outreach, and although he respectfully declined to participate in the book, he seemed open to the idea of getting together.”
Fox explained how the creative team ultimately decided that Stoltz’s dramatic acting style was simply too grave for the role. He added, “They had already shot for over a month.” Unfortunately, the dailies were disappointing. Eric was an immensely talented actor, but the creative team felt that he just wasn’t the right fit for Marty McFly.”
Fox went on to reveal his first meeting with Stoltz. He mentions, it went very smoothly, and the two were able to joke about the issue. “In the months since meeting, Eric and I have maintained a friendly correspondence…His emails are reliably witty and always fun to read,” Fox concluded.
Originally reported by Sourav Chakraborty on ComingSoon.
