Michael J. Fox Reflects on 40 Years of ‘Back to the Future’: “It’s Still Magic, Even Now”
Michael J. Fox looks back on four decades of Back to the Future and how it shaped his life and legacy.
Forty years after “Back to the Future” first hit theaters, Michael J. Fox still can’t escape Marty McFly. For the 64-year-old actor, who has been living with Parkinson’s disease for more than three decades, the film remains both a cornerstone of his career and a powerful marker of time. “I’ll be on the street, and some kid will go, ‘There’s Marty McFly!’” Fox said in a recent interview from his New York apartment. “No, this is an old man.” Yet, his humor and charm remain undiminished by illness or age.
The 1985 blockbuster, directed by Robert Zemeckis, will return to theaters this week as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations. A 4K remastered trilogy set and a collectible OUTATIME license plate are also being released. Fox is marking the occasion with a new book, “Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum,” co-authored with Nelle Fortenberry. “Sometimes I look at it and think about my family,” Fox said. “I have a 37-year-old son who wasn’t even born when we made that movie. It’s a long time ago.”
When “Back to the Future” premiered on July 3, 1985, it dominated the box office for months, topping U.S. charts for 11 of its first 12 weeks and even winning the admiration of then-President Ronald Reagan. While grounded in ’80s nostalgia, the film’s mix of humor, heart, and inventive storytelling has kept it timeless. Fox notes that the gap between 1985 and today now feels even greater than the one between 1985 and the movie’s time-travel destination, 1955. “People aren’t locked into their time period anymore,” he said. “It’s all fantasy.”
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Fox famously joined the film at the last minute after the original lead, Eric Stoltz, was replaced. Filming as Marty McFly by night and continuing his “Family Ties” sitcom by day left Fox exhausted but exhilarated. “I had no rehearsals, no pep talk,” he recalled. “I just showed up and got in the DeLorean. It must have cost more than the entire ‘Family Ties’ budget.” His natural energy and boyish vulnerability turned Marty into an enduring pop culture hero. Reflecting on his chemistry with co-star Christopher Lloyd, Fox described it as instant and unpredictable. “He’s like a father figure and a little brother to me, in a weird way,” he said.
Decades later, the meaning of “Back to the Future” has evolved with Fox’s life. Now dedicated to defeating Parkinson’s through his foundation, which has become the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research, Fox says the movie reminds him of the “ticking clock” that defines his journey. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024, he remains optimistic, cherishing family life with his wife, Tracy Pollan, and their four children. Occasionally, he still finds himself rewatching the classic that made him a star. “One Christmas, I sat down to watch it again,” he recalled. “An hour later, my wife asked where I was. I said, ‘I’m watching Back to the Future — and it’s really good. I’m good in it.’”
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