Originally published on 10/20/25

Longtime Back to the Future fans will be delighted to hear that Michael J.Fox—a.k.a the Marty McFly—has released a memoir about his time on set. In fact, the general reaction should be, “Great Scott!”

Released on October 14, the book is entitled Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum and in it Fox, along with Nelle Fortenberry, details how exactly the 64 year old actor managed to film Back to the Future and the sitcom Family Ties at the same time back in the 1980s. It’s honest, raw, real, hilarious and truly what any time traveler hoping to go back in time to 1985 needs. Below, we share the seven most revealing things that Fox did, including which part of Marty’s costume was his idea, how he really felt about the DeLorean and if he and Eric Stoltz ever became friends after Fox replaced him in the part. 

Michael J. Fox spills on what it was like to replace Eric Stoltz

Before Fox was in the film, Stoltz had been hired to play Marty McFly. He even shot a lot of the film with the cast, but was soon let go from the project, leaving many fans to wonder what could have been. 

“In Back to the Future, my take on Marty was simply different from Eric Stoltz’s. It’s not my place or my intention to represent Eric, I wasn’t there. I can only comment on Marty based on conjecture and the experience of others,” Fox writes. “From what I gather, Eric’s Marty was more somber than mine, approached through the lens of Marty’s altered reality at the film’s end.”

Following both the films release and the writing of this book, Fox and Stoltz did meet up and discuss Marty McFly, with the memoir reading “I [Fox] invited him [Stoltz] to come hang out at my office or to grab a cup of coffee in my neighborhood, but then I realized that the sighting of two Marty McFlys at Starbucks might explode the internet. 

“Instead, we opted for privacy over caffeine. On a crisp morning last fall, Eric showed up on my doorstep and we immediately fell into an easy dialogue about our careers, families, and yes, our own trips through the space-time continuum. As he wished, that part of the conversation will remain between us,” Fox continued. “Any awkwardness in this meeting was immediately dispelled by Eric’s grace. He entered with a smile, and we quickly acknowledged that neither of us had an issue with the other. What transpired on Back to the Future had not made us enemies or fated rivals; we were just two dedicated actors who had poured equal amounts of energy into the same role. The rest had nothing to do with us.” 

How the cast reacted to Eric Stoltz’s recasting

A large part of Back to the Future revolves around Marty trying to get his parents back together. This includes Lorraine (Lea Thompson), who develops a crush on Marty back in 1955 after her dad accidentally hits him with the family car. This scene originally starred Stoltz as Marty, but soon after he was let go and Fox stepped into the role. 

“Lea Thompson and I met for the first time 10 minutes before we filmed this scene [the one after Marty gets hit by a car]. Lea accurately describes herself as ‘cranky’ during our initial hellos. She and Eric Stoltz, the actor originally cast as Marty, had co-starred in a previous film, The Wild Life, and they had formed a friendship,” Fox wrote. “She felt loyal to him, protective of his place in the movie and bitter about how he had been let go after six weeks of filming Back to the Future. I was the recipient of those feelings. Lea went from missing Eric to having to adjust to a whole new approach to the lead role, which also changed Lorraine’s dynamic with Marty.” 

Michael J. Fox opens up about Marty’s look

From the many layers to the orange puffer vest, Marty’s look is nothing short of iconic. And according to him, some of that style came from him. 

“I brought a dash of my own style to Marty McFly-—his Nike shoes were mine,” writes Fox. “On the day of the Malibu fitting, the costume department realized that in their rush to gather everything needed for the lead actor switch and revised look, they had left Marty’s shoes back at the soundstage. I arrived at the meeting wearing my favorite Nikes, a pair of no-frills white Bruins with a red logo. They were my go-to sneaks, perfect for skateboarding and duckwalking and kicking around —everything Marty needed to do.” 

Driving the DeLorean sucked?! 

Every Back to the Future fan wanted to drive the DeLorean back in the day, but not Fox who shared that he “grew to hate driving the DeLorean.” 

“First of all, let’s face it: it’s a sh*t car. Slow to accelerate, with cheap appointments— and that’s before our special effects crew added their two cents (or several million dollars, all in). Those jerry-rigged accoutrements—the flux capacitor and various time clocks and flourishes tend to be rather rough-edged, metallic and sharp,” he continued. “After that first night in the driver’s seat, and for the remainder of the movie, my hands are criss crossed with lacerations, my knuckles bruised and my elbows contused from slamming into the space-edged console. As they say in show business, ‘Pain is temporary, film is forever.’” 

It’s better than what it could have been, though because, according to Fox, the original time machine was supposed to be a refrigerator. Imagine that. 

A look at how Marty McFly and Doc’s friendship came to be 

Ask anyone and they will tell you that they never questioned how Marty and Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown (Christopher Lloyd) became friends. In his memoir, Fox revealed that decision was made on purpose, writing “Acting opposite Chris was one of the greatest joys in making this movie.” 

“If you’ve ever wondered why Marty and Doc were friends, Bob Gale [the writer] provides this insight: ‘One of the things Bob Z [Robert Zemeckis, the director] and I were most proud of was the way the relationship between Marty and Doc just works,’” the book continues. “The audience never has a problem with it. Today, some people would say, ‘Why is this kid hanging out with this old guy?’ It’s because Marty McFly is the type of teenager who wants to hang out with someone like that. To him, Doc Brown is the coolest guy in Hill Valley.’”

Michael J. Fox talks about his love for music 

In Back to the Future, Marty plays the guitar several times, but the most important performance happens near the end of the film when he rocks out to “Johnny B.Goode” at the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance. 

“The ‘Johnny B. Goode”’ sequence—preparing for it, playing it for Zemeckis, Gale and [Steven] Spielberg; filming it and reliving it over and over again in impromptu performances through the years— means more to me than anything else in the Back to the Future universe,” writes Fox. “Those three minutes on screen became the musical calling card that allowed me to play like a rock star in theaters, sports arenas, and pavilions all over the world. I’ve played ‘Johnny B. Goode’ at MetLife Stadium and at Kate’s Fish Camp in Florida. It’s a medley of my hit.” 

The actor shares his final thoughts on the film

Forty years later, Back to the Future remains a hit for movie lovers everywhere. It’s funny, fresh and timeless—no pun intended—and Fox agrees. 

“I’ll never do something on that scale again, so I finally appreciate Back to the Future for what it really is: a near-perfect movie,” he says.

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/books/back-to-the-future-set-secrets-from-michael-j-foxs-memoir