Christopher Lloyd reveals the unexpected truth about his friendship with Michael J. Fox
The stars of Back to the Future became one of Hollywood’s most beloved duos, but Christopher Lloyd reveals why he and Michael J. Fox weren’t close at first.
C hristopher Lloyd revealed that his friendship with Michael J. Fox did not begin immediately and that it took several years for the two actors to build the bond that unites them today.
The 87-year-old actor recalled his experience working alongside Fox during the iconic Back to the Future trilogy. Their first meeting was marked by pressure and unexpected circumstances, as the Family Ties star joined the project to replace Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly six weeks after filming had already begun on the first movie.
Christopher Lloyd opens up about the challenging start of his friendship with Michael J. Fox
“So as far as I can tell, our introduction happened in a parking lot on Back to the Future, as Doc Brown and Marty, at a time when we were re-shooting scenes that I had already done once before,” Lloyd wrote in his memoir In My Own Time.
“I was having a very self-involved reaction at first, and moment to moment I was feeling the challenge of it, knowing that I had to make Doc’s scenes happen again and worrying about whether I could bring them back to the level I had brought them to the first time.”
Lloyd explained that he was completely focused on the new filming, so getting to know Fox was not his main concern. However, as the two actors began working together and “understanding” each other on screen, the chemistry started to emerge.
“I was extremely grateful that the other actor in this case was Michael, because he brought his own energy and that sparked me to get over my own anxieties,” Lloyd continued.
Although their connection as Doc Brown and Marty McFly was immediate in front of the cameras, Lloyd acknowledged that off the set they were not especially close at first. He also noted that Fox was under enormous pressure at the time, filming Back to the Future while also starring in Family Ties .
For that reason, the friendship between the two actors took time to solidify. Lloyd said it took the two sequels of the franchise before they truly got to know each other.
“It would take two more Back to the Future movies before Michael and I truly got to know each other and become friends. But it would come,” Lloyd shared.
In his autobiography, Lloyd also recalled some of the most important moments from filming the saga and revealed that his favorite installment was Back to the Future Part III , although he confessed to having one regret from that production.
Even though he had been asked not to perform his own stunts, there was one maneuver he always wanted to do. During the final scene in which Doc and Marty try to return to 1985 with a train, Lloyd regretted not being the one to climb onto the train car instead of leaving the action to a stuntman.
