Michael J Fox has claimed his Back to the Future co-star “created friction” on the set of the classic film.
The actor, who played Marty McFly in the 1985 film, said that Crispin Glover caused tensions behind-the-scenes due to his eccentric behaviour while playing his character’s father, George.
Fox, 65, said that, despite knowing Glover prior to the film, he was not “prepared to act with him” as he never “did the same thing the same way twice”.
According to Fox, Glover “had his own ideas” about what his character should do that differed from views shared by the film’s crew, including director Robert Zemeckis.
“Nobody puts Crispin in a box,” Fox wrote in new memoir Future Boy. “But that didn’t prevent the camera crew from literally building a box around him.
“As George McFly, Crispin had his own ideas as to how and where his character should move.”
Fox highlighted an instance in which Glover kept straying from his mark during a scene together.
“As Crispin approached the camera, he was meant to stay in a lane between the clothesline and me. But Crispin had a different plan,” the actor wrote.
“My guess is that he saw George as a wanderer, a free spirit who travelled in random patterns – in this case, perpendicular to the camera.”
To keep Glover in place, the crew “fabricated a miniature corral made of sandbags and C-stands, trapping Crispin into adhering to the parameters of the shot”.
Fox maintained that he “loved working” with Glover, stating: “His talent was unquestionable, although his methods sometimes created friction. Still, I respected how he remained true to George (as he understood and embodied him).”
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Glover, who was 21 at the time, was replaced by Jeffrey Weissman in the role of George for the film’s two sequels, which were released in 1989 and 1990. The Independent has contacted Glover for comment.
Fox himself initially clashed with the film’s female lead, Lea Thompson, as he had replaced her friend Eric Stoltz in the main role.
When asked if she hit it off right away with Fox, Thompson admitted in 2024: “Probably not because I was friends with Eric Stoltz, who had just gotten fired.”
However, Thompson soon struck up a good relationship with Fox.
In a new interview, Fox also opened up about living with Parkinson’s since he was 29 and shared his candid thoughts on death.
“There are not many people who have had Parkinson’s for 35 years,” Fox told The Sunday Times. “I’d like to just not wake up one day. That’d be really cool. I don’t want it to be dramatic. I don’t want to trip over furniture, smash my head.”
During a recent interview with People, the Teen Wolf actor also opened up about his daily challenges while living with Parkinson’s.
“I wake up and get the message of what the day is gonna be like, and I try to adjust to it,” he said. “I keep getting new challenges physically, and I get through it.”
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