Back To The Future: The Actor Who Almost Played Doc Brown

Before Christopher Lloyd, what actor almost played Doc Brown in Back to the Future? Doctor Emmett “Doc” Brown is Back to the Future‘s nuclear physicist who invents a time-traveling DeLorean in 1985. The film follows Marty (Michael J. Fox), who accidentally travels back in time to 1955, and his quest to get back to the future while avoiding messing up the past. Introduced as Marty’s best friend in 1985, Doc in 1955 helps Marty reconstruct the damaged time machine and harness a bolt of lightning to bring Marty back home. Back to the Future became a cultural phenomenon and finished as one of the highest-grossing movies of the 1980s.

The chemistry between Fox and Lloyd significantly contributed to the film’s success. Surprisingly, the duo almost never worked together because of scheduling issues. Fox was the first choice to play Marty according to the film’s director, Robert Zemeckis. However, Fox was already a huge star at the time on the television show Family Ties and could not get out of his contract to join the film. Eric Stoltz was hired as Marty and filmed alongside Lloyd for a few weeks. However, Zemeckis felt that Stolz didn’t fit the role and recast the role with Fox, who was able to work on both projects.

Fox might have been the first choice for Marty, but Lloyd was not the top selection for Doc Brown. So who almost assumed the role of Back to the Future‘s eccentric, time-traveling scientist?

The actor that almost played Doc Brown was John Lithgow. Neil Canton, a producer on Back to the Future, previously worked with Lithgow on another science fiction film, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Lithgow played an eccentric scientist named Dr. Emilio Lizardo, which gave Canton the inspiration to cast Lithgow as Doc Brown. When Lithgow was unavailable for the film due to previous commitments, the studio eventually settled on Lloyd, who also worked with Canton on Buckaroo Banzai.

Lithgow and Lloyd were not the only actors considered for the role of Doc Brown. Jeff Goldblum was close to winning the role due to his work with Canton on Buckaroo Banzai. John Candy, Danny DeVito, Gene Hackman, Gene Wilder, Robin Williams, and James Woods were all in the initial running for the part. Before signing on, Lloyd was hesitant to take the role and considered doing an off-broadway play in New York City. After being convinced by a friend to read the script again, Lloyd met with Zemeckis and finally agreed to play Doc.

After all of the scheduling conflicts and casting discussions, Fox and Lloyd proved they were the right actors for the job as Back to the Future continues to be a staple in pop culture. There have been rumors about a possible fourth film for almost three decades. Although Zemeckis has shot them down, Lloyd is open to a fourth Back to the Future film if it continues the story of the first three in a good manner. Although a fourth Back to the Future is unlikely, in a world of constant sequels and reboots, never say never.

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