Michael J. Fox Debunked A Messy Feud Rumor That Haunted Him For Decades

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Michael J. Fox has had a challenging life since being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, and he's written about some of it in a memoir called "Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum." In the book, Fox writes about rocketing to superstardom playing Alex P. Keaton on the TV show "Family Ties" and Marty McFly in the "Back to the Future" movie trilogy. But 1980s movie fans know that Fox wasn't actually the first Marty McFly; he replaced Eric Stoltz, who had started filming the role before he got fired. And for years, it's been rumored that there was some big drama between the two actors, which likely wasn't helped by the fact that Fox became such a star in the role. But Fox confirmed in the book that there was actually no bad blood between the two of them, and he wrote about what it was like meeting up with Stoltz decades after the movie came out.

They met up in New York City, and "it was great," Fox explained. "It was a great conversation. It was just two guys talking, which is what I thought it would be," via People.

Fox also wrote about how people have reacted in the years since the movie about him taking over Stoltz's role, essentially making it into a bigger deal than it actually was. "There's all this mythology built up about this thing that happened. Was it backstabbing? Was there people conniving and being evil? No, it just was the thing that happened." Hollywood is full of feuds, so we're happy to hear there's no ill will between Fox and Stoltz.

Fox also revealed in the book that Stoltz's firing from the film had an impact on the start of his relationship with his co-star Lea Thompson, who played his mother Lorraine. Fox wrote about how Thompson was friends with Stoltz, and she wasn't happy with the replacement at first. Thompson confirmed the same on the "Still Here Hollywood" podcast. However, the two were thankfully able to work things out and remain friends today.

Fox replacing Stoltz also had another casting impact on the movie. When Stoltz was Marty, his girlfriend was played by Melora Hardin, aka Jan from "The Office," and she also got replaced on "Back to the Future". When Fox came on, it was decided that since Hardin was taller than Fox, she wasn't the right fit anymore.

Fox had actually been the first pick for the Marty McFly role, but the timing didn't initially work out, and Stoltz was cast. And the issue with Stoltz's performance, as co-writer Bob Gale shared with The Guardian, was that he didn't bring the right type of funny to the part. It seems safe to say that Fox nailed it.