August 1, 2025 • 7 mins
This summer is the 40th anniversary of the blockbuster "Back to the Future". But it originally starred an actor who hated the whole story line! He was replaced by Michael J. Fox . . and the rest is history. But there are a boatload of movies, with huge stars who hated the final product!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, did you ever have a job you hated
or at least wished you'd never taken? Pretty much all
of us have been there, right, And you know what
that includes some really big movie stars. Eric Stoltz had
filmed most of his starring role in Back to the Future,
but was fired before it was done, and he was
totally relieved. Other stars who made movies they regret include
(00:21):
George Clooney, Halle Berry, and Rob Pattinson, just to name
a few. I'm Patty Steele trading in passion for a paycheck.
That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. Did
you know that there are movies that starred actors who
actually hated the role? Got to thank backstory listener Steve
(00:44):
Kingston for suggesting this one. This summer is the fortieth
anniversary of one of the biggest movies of the twentieth century,
Back to the Future. There were sequels, theme park attractions,
video games, and animated TV series, and even a stage
musical all based on this flick. Not to mention all
the merchandising, right, and it made Michael J. Fox a superstar.
(01:07):
But here's the thing. He wasn't the first star in
that movie. When filming started, more than fifteen young actors
were considered for the role, and in fact, most of
the movie was filmed using a different actor to play
Marty McFly. Eric Stoltz had filmed most of his scenes
when the director said, yeah, this is not going to
work and promptly fire him. Why. Well, it seems Eric
(01:31):
had a completely different sense of what the movie should
be about. We all know it as this fun coming
of age adventure comedy. Marty's dealing with an alcoholic mother
and a mild manner depressed dad who's bullied by his boss.
Marty's afraid he's going to wind up living the same life,
But then he meets Doc Brown, an eccentric old guy
(01:52):
who's built a time machine. Marty goes back to nineteen
fifty five and gives his parents a new start, making
their future life happy and successful. Well, what could be
wrong with that story? It seems Eric Stoltz saw the
story as a tragedy when he first read it, and
that's how he approached it. But the director and producers
(02:12):
felt his acting was too intense and too serious. They
said they wanted a screwball attitude, not a serious method
actor who wouldn't even answer by his real name when
he was in character. Stoltz felt Marty McFly's return to
nineteen eighty five would be depressing because he'd changed his
entire past and thus his present, So the director Robert
(02:34):
Semechis had to fire Staltz, which he later said broke
Stoltz's heart. Well, not really. Eric had told his makeup
artist that he wasn't a comedian and he had no
idea why he was cast in the role. Others said
Eric was incredibly relieved to be let go because he
got full pay and he didn't have to make a movie.
He wasn't feeling all. That got me to thinking about
(02:56):
taking jobs we don't love. Pretty much everybody myself included,
has had to take a job just for the income.
Sometimes you do it to pay the rent, sometimes because
you're going to make a decent quick buck while waiting
to get paid to follow your passion, and sometimes the
money is just too good to turn down. Either way,
(03:17):
it can be soul crushing when what you want to do,
your financial needs, and your boss's vision aren't in sync.
That's what happened to Eric Staltz when he was trying
to be Marty McFly right. But there have been plenty
of other actors who sacrifice their artistic motivation to make
a buck, and sometimes, like Eric Staaltz, they've taken a
(03:37):
role for which they had a different vision than the director.
Halle Berry had won an Academy Award for the movie
Monster's Ball, and everybody was watching to figure out where
she'd go next. She did a couple of big films,
including a James bondflick, and then came Catwoman. Michelle Pfeiffer,
Nicole Kidman, and Ashley Judd were all considered, but it
(03:59):
finally went to She prepped intensely with trainers to get
her body in perfect shape for the role, and costumes
were designed to show off her hard work. Now, the
problem is the film was poorly conceived, poorly written, and
awkwardly directed. They were still adding new scenes less than
a month before it hit theaters. One writer said the
(04:21):
problem was nobody in charge knew what movie they actually
wanted to make. Hallie as Catwoman won the Razzie Award
for Worst Actress, and to her credit, she showed up
in person to pick it up. In her acceptance speech,
she said, I want to thank Warner Brothers for putting
me in this god awful piece of crap. That wasn't
(04:43):
the word she used. She later admitted she just did
it for the paycheck. Another terrible superhero flick, George Clooney
played Batman in Batman and Robin. His costume included bat
nipples and there was a terrible storyline and he has
no problem admitting it. In several interviews, he said, it
is a terrible film. I always apologize for it. He
(05:06):
even jokes that he destroyed the franchise for a good decade.
There are plenty of actors who had roles in really
huge blockbusters who also weren't proud of their work. Rob
Pattinson became a star thanks to the Twilight film series,
but later said it was a franchise he'd mindlessly hate
if he hadn't been the star. He said he found
(05:26):
the character of Edward Cullen to be a one hundred
eight year old virgin stalker and kind of questioned the
script's logic. He told an interviewer, the more I read
the script, the more I hated this guy. He claimed
he only smiled in publicity interviews because he was paid to.
Ben Affleck made the two thousand and three flick Daredevil,
and while it made a healthy one hundred eighty million
(05:48):
dollars at the box office, he claims it's the only
movie he's ever regretted making, and that's saying a lot
for a guy who made the god awful flick Jelly
with his then fiancee j Loo. And there were so
many others. Tom Cruise was disappointed in Legend, Meryl Street
sorry about her acting in the French Lieutenant's Woman, Viola
(06:09):
Davis was disappointed in the message of The Help, and
Kate Winslet was just upset by working with disgraced directors
like Roman Polansky and Woody Allen. The thing is a
lot of these folks were young and looking to build
their reputation, or maybe they just needed the money, or
maybe they didn't feel strong enough to speak up when
(06:30):
they had the chance. We all make choices, right, all
of which is great lesson for the rest of us
about staying true to our passion and speaking up when
we really feel the urge. Again, I want to thank
Steve Kingston for suggesting this storyline. I hope you like
the backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave a review I
would love it if you would subscribe or follow for
(06:52):
free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and also feel
free to DM me if you have a story you'd
like me to cover Steve did. On Facebook, It's Patty
Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele.
The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis
(07:13):
Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.
Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday
and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with
comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty
Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening
to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history
(07:35):
you didn't know you needed to know.
All right, did you ever have a job you hated
or at least wished you'd never taken? Pretty much all
of us have been there, right, And you know what
that includes some really big movie stars. Eric Stoltz had
filmed most of his starring role in Back to the Future,
but was fired before it was done, and he was
totally relieved. Other stars who made movies they regret include
(00:21):
George Clooney, Halle Berry, and Rob Pattinson, just to name
a few. I'm Patty Steele trading in passion for a paycheck.
That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. Did
you know that there are movies that starred actors who
actually hated the role? Got to thank backstory listener Steve
(00:44):
Kingston for suggesting this one. This summer is the fortieth
anniversary of one of the biggest movies of the twentieth century,
Back to the Future. There were sequels, theme park attractions,
video games, and animated TV series, and even a stage
musical all based on this flick. Not to mention all
the merchandising, right, and it made Michael J. Fox a superstar.
(01:07):
But here's the thing. He wasn't the first star in
that movie. When filming started, more than fifteen young actors
were considered for the role, and in fact, most of
the movie was filmed using a different actor to play
Marty McFly. Eric Stoltz had filmed most of his scenes
when the director said, yeah, this is not going to
work and promptly fire him. Why. Well, it seems Eric
(01:31):
had a completely different sense of what the movie should
be about. We all know it as this fun coming
of age adventure comedy. Marty's dealing with an alcoholic mother
and a mild manner depressed dad who's bullied by his boss.
Marty's afraid he's going to wind up living the same life,
But then he meets Doc Brown, an eccentric old guy
(01:52):
who's built a time machine. Marty goes back to nineteen
fifty five and gives his parents a new start, making
their future life happy and successful. Well, what could be
wrong with that story? It seems Eric Stoltz saw the
story as a tragedy when he first read it, and
that's how he approached it. But the director and producers
(02:12):
felt his acting was too intense and too serious. They
said they wanted a screwball attitude, not a serious method
actor who wouldn't even answer by his real name when
he was in character. Stoltz felt Marty McFly's return to
nineteen eighty five would be depressing because he'd changed his
entire past and thus his present, So the director Robert
(02:34):
Semechis had to fire Staltz, which he later said broke
Stoltz's heart. Well, not really. Eric had told his makeup
artist that he wasn't a comedian and he had no
idea why he was cast in the role. Others said
Eric was incredibly relieved to be let go because he
got full pay and he didn't have to make a movie.
He wasn't feeling all. That got me to thinking about
(02:56):
taking jobs we don't love. Pretty much everybody myself included,
has had to take a job just for the income.
Sometimes you do it to pay the rent, sometimes because
you're going to make a decent quick buck while waiting
to get paid to follow your passion, and sometimes the
money is just too good to turn down. Either way,
(03:17):
it can be soul crushing when what you want to do,
your financial needs, and your boss's vision aren't in sync.
That's what happened to Eric Staltz when he was trying
to be Marty McFly right. But there have been plenty
of other actors who sacrifice their artistic motivation to make
a buck, and sometimes, like Eric Staaltz, they've taken a
(03:37):
role for which they had a different vision than the director.
Halle Berry had won an Academy Award for the movie
Monster's Ball, and everybody was watching to figure out where
she'd go next. She did a couple of big films,
including a James bondflick, and then came Catwoman. Michelle Pfeiffer,
Nicole Kidman, and Ashley Judd were all considered, but it
(03:59):
finally went to She prepped intensely with trainers to get
her body in perfect shape for the role, and costumes
were designed to show off her hard work. Now, the
problem is the film was poorly conceived, poorly written, and
awkwardly directed. They were still adding new scenes less than
a month before it hit theaters. One writer said the
(04:21):
problem was nobody in charge knew what movie they actually
wanted to make. Hallie as Catwoman won the Razzie Award
for Worst Actress, and to her credit, she showed up
in person to pick it up. In her acceptance speech,
she said, I want to thank Warner Brothers for putting
me in this god awful piece of crap. That wasn't
(04:43):
the word she used. She later admitted she just did
it for the paycheck. Another terrible superhero flick, George Clooney
played Batman in Batman and Robin. His costume included bat
nipples and there was a terrible storyline and he has
no problem admitting it. In several interviews, he said, it
is a terrible film. I always apologize for it. He
(05:06):
even jokes that he destroyed the franchise for a good decade.
There are plenty of actors who had roles in really
huge blockbusters who also weren't proud of their work. Rob
Pattinson became a star thanks to the Twilight film series,
but later said it was a franchise he'd mindlessly hate
if he hadn't been the star. He said he found
(05:26):
the character of Edward Cullen to be a one hundred
eight year old virgin stalker and kind of questioned the
script's logic. He told an interviewer, the more I read
the script, the more I hated this guy. He claimed
he only smiled in publicity interviews because he was paid to.
Ben Affleck made the two thousand and three flick Daredevil,
and while it made a healthy one hundred eighty million
(05:48):
dollars at the box office, he claims it's the only
movie he's ever regretted making, and that's saying a lot
for a guy who made the god awful flick Jelly
with his then fiancee j Loo. And there were so
many others. Tom Cruise was disappointed in Legend, Meryl Street
sorry about her acting in the French Lieutenant's Woman, Viola
(06:09):
Davis was disappointed in the message of The Help, and
Kate Winslet was just upset by working with disgraced directors
like Roman Polansky and Woody Allen. The thing is a
lot of these folks were young and looking to build
their reputation, or maybe they just needed the money, or
maybe they didn't feel strong enough to speak up when
(06:30):
they had the chance. We all make choices, right, all
of which is great lesson for the rest of us
about staying true to our passion and speaking up when
we really feel the urge. Again, I want to thank
Steve Kingston for suggesting this storyline. I hope you like
the backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave a review I
would love it if you would subscribe or follow for
(06:52):
free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and also feel
free to DM me if you have a story you'd
like me to cover Steve did. On Facebook, It's Patty
Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele.
The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis
(07:13):
Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser.
Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday
and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with
comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty
Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening
to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history
(07:35):
you didn't know you needed to know.
Host
Patty Steele
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