Hollywood actor Michael J. Fox has expressed heartfelt gratitude to Crispin Glover, labeling him a “brilliant actor” to collaborate with on the iconic film Back to the Future, 40 years after its release.
The 64-year-old actor recently penned a letter to Crispin, now 61, praising his “phenomenal role” as George McFly, the father of Michael’s character Marty McFly. This acknowledgment came as Michael realized he hadn’t had the chance to express his admiration during the filming of the 1985 sci-fi comedy.
Having rewatched Back to the Future while writing his memoir, Future Boy, which recounts his experiences making the movie, Michael found a renewed appreciation for Crispin’s performance. In his book, he shared, “In the process of preparing for this book, I wrote Crispin a letter. ‘Your performance is richer and deeper every time I see it. In fact, I skip over my bits to watch yours. Granted, we didn’t talk much during production, so I never had the chance to say that you are a brilliant actor, and I was thrilled to work with you.’”
In a memorable 1984 appearance, both actors starred in a season two episode of the sitcom Family Ties, titled Birthday Boy. Crispin portrayed Doug, a friend of Alex P. Keaton (Michael), and his timing delivered some of the episode’s biggest laughs.
Michael noted, “The interesting thing about Crispin as an actor is that he had no awareness of the audience. He wasn’t trying to milk the laughs. He was just naturally funny, and he crushed it on every take. I feel the same about his work in Back to the Future.”
Regarding Back to the Future, Michael was initially unprepared to work alongside seasoned actors like Christopher Lloyd, as most of the cast were rising stars. Crispin, however, did not return for the sequels Back to the Future II and Back to the Future III, reportedly due to creative differences.