‘Family Ties’ Creator Secretly Rejected ‘Back to the Future’ Role on Michael J. Fox’s Behalf

Most of us know the story of how Eric Stoltz briefly held the role of Marty McFly in Back to the Future before Michael J. Fox took it on — but you probably didn’t know that Stoltz was only cast in the first place because Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg secretly turned down the role on Fox’s behalf, according to Fox in a new People interview.

In 1984, Fox was experiencing success as the lead of the show Family Ties, playing preppy young Republican Alex P. Keaton. At the time, Fox was happy with his television career and wasn’t seriously thinking about transitioning to film. However, Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis had their eye on Fox to play Marty McFly in their new film Back to the Future.