SerpApi.Org
Michael J. Fox’s time-traveling comedy flew into theaters in 1985
NEED TO KNOW
- Back to the Future was released in theaters in July 1985
- The time-traveling comedy starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson
- The cast has reunited over the years and continued to work in Hollywood in the four decades since its premiere
Great Scott! It’s hard to believe it’s been 41 years since audiences first met Marty McFly and Doc in Back to the Future.
The sci-fi comedy premiered on July 3, 1985, and became one of the most beloved movies of the decade. In the film, Michael J. Fox stars as Marty, an electric-guitar-playing, restless teen who worries about repeating his parents’ mistakes. He befriends scientist Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown (Christopher Lloyd), who introduces him to a unique invention that can take them back in time — and gets them stuck in 1955.
What unfolded next as they embarked on their return adventure is what fans have kept rewatching year after year. Back to the Future was followed up by a sequel in 1989 and a third installment in 1990.
“When we made [the first] Back to the Future, we didn’t even think we were going to make a sequel,” actress Lea Thompson, who played Marty’s mom Lorraine, told PEOPLE in June 2025. “There was no sequel deal, there was no concept of that.”
Here’s everything to know about what the stars of Back to the Future have been up to since the time-traveling DeLorean first went for a spin.
01 of 07
Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly
Disgruntled Marty McFly accidentally heads back in time, altering the course of his parents’ lives and his own future in the process.
When he took on the role of the skateboarding California teen, Fox was already well-known, thanks to his role as Alex P. Keaton on the TV show Family Ties, which earned him three Emmy Awards. (He filmed the projects at the same time.)
Following the success of Back to the Future and its two sequels, Fox starred in a slew of movies, such as Doc Hollywood (1991) and the Stuart Little franchise, and shows like Spin City, for which he earned his fourth Emmy in 1999, Boston Legal and The Michael J. Fox Show. He won a fifth Emmy in 2009 for his guest appearance on Rescue Me.
In 1991, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He opened up about his illness in 1998 and launched his namesake foundation in 2000 to raise money for research. Ahead of the 95th Academy Awards, Fox was awarded an honorary Oscar at the 13th annual Governors Awards for his Parkinson’s advocacy in November 2022.
In 2023, the Apple TV documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which chronicles the actor’s life and journey with Parkinson’s, was released. After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the film went on to win four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary.
After wrapping his last major acting roles on The Good Wife in 2016 and its spinoff The Good Fight in 2020, Fox retired from acting. He returned to TV in January 2026 for the third season of Apple TV’s Shrinking. The star told PEOPLE in April 2026 that he’d “absolutely” come back for season 4 if asked.
Fox married Tracy Pollan, whom he met on the set of Family Ties, in July 1988. The pair share four children: son Sam and daughters Aquinnah, Schuyler and Esmé.
02 of 07
Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown
Already well established in Hollywood thanks to his Emmy-winning role on Taxi, Lloyd played Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown, the scientist who helps guide Marty safely through (and from) the past. He returned for both sequels and a short-lived TV series.
Since the release of Back to the Future, the actor has kept busy throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, starring as Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), Uncle Fester in The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), and in family favorites like Dennis the Menace (1993), Angels in the Outfield (1994), Camp Nowhere (1994) and Baby Geniuses (1999).
Lloyd also voiced Hacker on the PBS Kids’ animated series Cyberchase from 2002 to 2022, and starred on shows, like I Dream, Clubhouse, Stacked and Granite Flats.
Other film credits include The Tender Bar (2021), Spirit Halloween (2022), Self Reliance (2023) and Nobody 2 (2025), and he’s made appearances on Hacks, Netflix’s Wednesday (as Professor Orloff, not Fester) and Happy’s Place and voiced The Professor on Tooned Out.
Lloyd wed his fifth wife, former real estate agent Lisa Loiacono, in November 2016. He was previously married to actress Catherine Boyd from 1959 to 1971, actress Kay Tornborg from 1974 to 1987, Carol Vanek from 1988 to 1991 and screenwriter Jane Walker Wood from 1992 to 2005.
03 of 07
Lea Thompson as Lorraine Baines-McFly
A relative newcomer at the time of the film’s release, Thompson played Marty’s mom, who finds herself unknowingly crushing on her son when he goes back in time.
Thompson landed her own acclaimed mid-‘90s series, Caroline in the City, and went on to star in many more projects, including Hallmark’s Jane Doe TV movie franchise and ABC Family’s (now Freeform) Switched at Birth, as well as films like J. Edgar (2011), The Trouble with the Truth (2012), Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018) and Little Women (2018). She also reunited with Lloyd in Dennis the Menace.
Her two most recent projects were the CTV procedural series The Spencer Sisters in 2023 and as Nancy on the Hallmark Channel’s The Chicken Sisters, which premiered in 2024.
Thompson has been married to director Howard Deutch — whom she met on the set of 1987’s Some Kind of Wonderful — since 1989. Their two daughters, Madelyn Deutch and Zoey Deutch, are also writers and actors; Madelyn wrote 2017’s The Year of Spectacular Men, which costarred her mom and sister, who served as producer.
04 of 07
Crispin Glover as George McFly
Crispin Glover portrayed Marty’s dad, George, who eventually made it to where he was supposed to be in the altered past and turned out even stronger in the future. He did not return for the Back to the Future sequels.
The actor is known for his eclectic role choices. He reunited with Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis for the performance-capture movie Beowulf (2007), as well as the surrealist films Mr. K (2024) and No! You’re Wrong. or: Spooky Action at a Distance (2025), the latter of which he directed.
Glover’s additional film credits include The Doors (1991), What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Willard (2003), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and The Bag Man (2014).
From 2017 to 2021, Glover appeared as Mr. World on Starz’s American Gods.
The actor-filmmaker is also the author of three books: Oak Mot, Rat Catching and Concrete Inspection.
05 of 07
Claudia Wells as Jennifer Parker
Claudia Wells played Jennifer Parker, Marty’s present-day girlfriend who bookended the film, supporting him in early scenes and reuniting with him after the climax. Like Glover, she didn’t appear in the sequels and was replaced by actress Elisabeth Shue.
After Back to the Future, Wells was a recurring cast member on Off the Rack and Fast Times before taking a break from acting in 1986.
She returned in 2008 in the film Still Waters Burn. Most notably, she reprised her role as Jennifer in the 2011 video game Back to the Future: The Game.
She later appeared in films like Vitals (2019), Bottle Monster (2020), and No Evidence of Man (2026) and made a 2011 guest appearance on The Mentalist.
Aside from acting, Wells opened the high-end menswear shop Armani Wells in Studio City, Calif., in 1991, which she still runs.
Wells is mom to one son.
06 of 07
Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen
Thomas F. Wilson is best known for portraying George’s bully Biff, who was eventually put in his place thanks to Marty’s past antics. He played Biff and other members of the Tannen family in the two sequels and the Back to the Future animated TV series.
Wilson has made several guest appearances over the years on series like Reba, Psych, Franklin & Bash, NCIS and Sydney to the Max and had recurring parts on Freaks and Geeks and Ghost Whisperer.
He also voiced multiple characters in the SpongeBob SquarePants film franchise and on The Spectacular Spider-Man series, among other animated projects. The actor appeared in 2013’s The Heat alongside Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.
Wilson and his wife Caroline, who wed in 1985, have four children together, including former MLB player Tommy Wilson.
07 of 07
Marc McClure as Dave McFly
Marc McClure was known as Jimmy Olsen in the Christopher Reeve-led Superman movies before he took on the Back to the Future role of Dave McFly, one of Marty’s two obnoxious siblings. (The late Wendie Jo Sperber, who died in November 2005, played Marty’s sister Linda McFly.)
He has steadily worked in Hollywood since the film’s 1985 release, including appearances in Apollo 13 (1995), That Thing You Do! (1996), Daybreak (2000), Freaky Friday (2003), Coach Carter (2005) and Frost/Nixon (2008).
In a nod to his past work in Superman, McClure appeared in 2017’s Justice League and 2021’s Zack Snyder‘s Justice League.
He’s also appeared on the small screen on series like Beverly Hills, 90210, The Shield, ER, Cold Case, Smallville (another Superman connection!) and Powerless.
McClure shares one child with his wife Carol Courson Cowley, whom he has been married to since August 1985.
Read the original article on People
