A different Marty

Michael J. Fox is best known for playing Marty McFly in Back to the Future - but he wasn’t always locked in for the role!

While director Robert Zemeckis always had Fox in mind, scheduling conflicts meant the actor initially couldn’t take the part, and so Eric Stoltz stepped in and filming began with him in the lead.

After six weeks of shooting, however, Zemeckis felt Stoltz just wasn’t the right fit.

Stoltz ultimately left the project, and Fox was brought in to reshoot all of Marty’s scenes.

While Zemeckis was thrilled with the switch, not everyone on set was immediately on board.

Lea Thompson, who played Marty's mother Lorraine Baines, later admitted: “I remember specifically being really snooty because there was a big division between movie stars and TV stars at that point.

“I remember being like, ‘He’s just a TV star, and I’m a movie star. I was in Jaws 3D.’ So, I think it took me a while to warm up to him, but he was so funny and so fun to act with.”