Back to the Future might be an ’80s classic now, but the road to getting Marty McFly on screen was anything but smooth. In his new memoir, Future Boy, Fox looks back on how stepping in for Eric Stoltz knocked future The Office star Melora Hardin right out of her breakout role.
Michael J. Fox explains how he “inadvertently” cost Melora Hardin her Back to the Future role
Michael J. Fox admits in his memoir that his height was always a bit of a sore spot growing up and even in his early Hollywood hustle. Playing the “younger kid” helped him score roles. However, standing next to taller actresses was a major hurdle for him.
So when he was called in to replace Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly, that old height issue suddenly became a big deal again. Melora Hardin had already shot a bunch of scenes as Jennifer Parker with Eric Stoltz. This matched the original look the filmmakers were going for. However, things changed soon enough.
In his memoir, Fox says director Robert Zemeckis genuinely tried to make it work. He even checked in with some of the women on the crew to get a real-world take. Unfortunately, he was told that the height difference between Fox and Hardin might look a little off for a teen couple.
Fox admits the whole situation weighed on him. He writes that he genuinely felt bad knowing his casting accidentally bumped Hardin out of the movie.
“I regret that this prejudice inadvertently affected another cast member in Back to the Future – Melora Hardin, the talented actress who had played Marty’s girlfriend, Jennifer, opposite the perfectly tall Eric Stoltz” (via EW).
But the decision was already made. Hardin, who stood a few inches taller than Fox, was quietly replaced. Claudia Wells, Zemeckis’ original pick for Jennifer Parker, stepped back into the role.
Hardin later opened up about the issue and said she’d signed on for a two-movie deal, and everyone around her knew this was the big break. So when she found out Stoltz was out and she was suddenly not Jennifer anymore, it felt like someone pulled the rug right out from under her. She was only 17, and the news “was crushing” for her.
Originally reported by Rishabh Shandilya on ComingSoon.
