Revealed: The actor who spent five weeks filming Back to the Future before being bumped for Michael J Fox



Back To The Future turned Michael J Fox into one of the biggest stars of the Eighties - but it almost never happened.

The actor was not the first star cast as time-traveling skater-kid Marty McFly, as these images show.



In fact, it was actor Eric Stoltz who first portrayed the orange-vested, Power of Love jamming McFly in the 1985 classic.

Double take: Eric Stoltz (left) was originally cast as Marty McFly in Back To The Future, before he was replaced by Michael J Fox (right)



Five weeks in: Every scene that Eric Stoltz had starred in had to be re-shot with Fox - who went on to be an international star These scenes from a bonus video clip from the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy collection - out October 25 in the UK on Blu-ray - offer a glimpse of Stoltz in the role. 'He's a magnificent actor, but his comedy sensibilities were very different from what I had written with Bob Gale,' Zemeckis said. 'And he and I were just never able to make that work.' Zemeckis said he showed Steven Spielberg the first five weeks of footage and told him they weren't 'getting the laughs I was hoping we would get.' Said Spielberg: 'He was absolutely correct so I had to make this horrific decision which was heartbreaking for everybody.'