It is quite uncommon for actors and crew members to be fired from the production of a film mid-way. It is even more uncommon for the entire cast and crew to be assembled together and told this news, along with the reason for which the particular person was fired. This seemed to have actually happened on the set of Back to the Future when actor Eric Stoltz was fired from the film in the middle of production.
It is only natural that something like this would cause tension and fear among the people working on the project, fearing a similar fate to that of Stoltz. Christopher Lloyd spoke up about having anxiety following these events which affected his performance during shooting.
Eric Stoltz Was Fired Then Publically Humiliated On The Set Of Back To The Future
Christopher Lloyd is an exceptionally talented actor, having been part of massive Hollywood projects like Nobody, Addams Family, and perhaps, most famously, his work in the cult classic movie series, Back to the Future as Dr. Emmett Brown. During an interview, the actor revealed that while filming the first film in the franchise, the entire cast and crew were asked to gather around and told that Eric Stoltz, best known for his work in films like Pulp Fiction, Anaconda, and Mask, was being fired from the project and now, the main character of the film would be played by Michael J. Fox.
“They just decided that they needed somebody with a comic flair,” said Lloyd.
Thi is perhaps one of the most famous recasting in Hollywood history and the reason for this was the fact that the producers did not believe that Stoltz was the right fit for the film, stating that he simply did not possess the ‘comic flair’ that was needed for the character that he was playing, Marty McFly.
Christopher Lloyd Had No Idea About The Change In Cast And Got Quite Scared After This
Christopher Lloyd stated that had absolutely no idea that the production team of Back to the Future was going to do something like this and was quite confused when he heard this as he thought of Eric Stoltz as an amazing actor. Not only did this change in casting catch the actor off guard, but also resulted in some anxiety and fear of meeting the same fate.
“Stoltz is a wonderful actor. I had no idea the change was coming. My biggest fear, because I was really working to get Doc right, I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can get it up to do [all the scenes over] again.’ So I was worried about it. But, it all worked out.” he stated.
Lloyd revealed that one of his biggest fears while filming this project was to be fired suddenly because of his poor performance on set. It avoids this, the actor tried very hard to nail his role as Dr. Emmett Brown to the best of his abilities. He was also quite concerned whether he could handle the reshoots, having to film the entire film from the start again, this time with Michael J. Fox.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
