Michael J. Fox nearly destroyed the internet last October when he reunited with Back to the Future co-star Christopher Lloyd on stage at New York Comic Con. The duo were on the verge of tears as Fox emotionally hugged Lloyd and Lloyd put his arm around Fox. Their reunion caused many Back to the Future fans to wonder if the two could work together again on screen. Fox thought fondly of Lloyd at Variety Studio presented by Audible in Sundance and revealed their friendship only really took shape in the third Back to the Future film.
“Chris is a great guy. He’s very enigmatic,” Fox said. “It took me a couple of films to get to know him. On Back to the Future Part III we bonded in a way that we didn’t have on the other films. I came to see how much he loved acting. I have never received this. To sit down and talk about acting and talk about Shakespeare and King Lear… This guy can play King Lear! People don’t expect that from him. He’s full of surprises.
Fox continued: “He can tell the story of a film in two seconds and you get it. Us normal actors have to invest hours and hours to get the information out. Chris is brilliant at it. His love of film and his love of being an actor… He’s not just a madman, he’s an artist.”
The Back to the Future star received a huge standing ovation after the world premiere of his new documentary, Still, at Sundance. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, the documentary explores the intersection of Fox’s legendary career and Fox’s life with Parkinson’s disease. The film is already supported by Apple. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the 1990s.
“I didn’t want to do a Parkinson’s film. I don’t want to make a sick film. I want to make a film about a life,” Guggenheim told Variety. “The only thought he said to me was, ‘No violence.’ We hope the tone of the film isn’t pitiful. This is a film about a wild life, an incredible ride of ups and downs and a 1980’s Hollywood movie star and what happens when life throws him a curveball.”
Fox famously came to Back to the Future after production had already started, with Lloyd filming scenes with original Marty McFly actor Eric Stoltz. Director Robert Zemeckis realized that Stoltz wasn’t right for the role, so Fox was cast and the production had to reshoot scenes.