Eric Stoltz Terrorized Universal Studios Tourists While Filming Back To The Future

For any fan of "Back to the Future," the fact that Eric Stoltz was the original actor cast to portray Marty McFly in the 1985 classic before being replaced by Michael J. Fox deep into filming is well-known. In most cases, it's used as an example of how filmmaking is an almost alchemical process, especially when it comes to casting actors. The footage of Stoltz in the role (whatever might be left of it, that is) has also become a bit of a white whale for fans curious as to what the actor's performance was like and just how different it might've made the finished film. That leads to the most compelling element about the situation, which is how it surrounds "Back to the Future," a movie all about how mercurial the spacetime continuum is, with several "what if?" questions. Never mind the fact that the film's two sequels probably wouldn't have happened if Stoltz had remained in the part, but how would a world with a Stoltz-led "Back to the Future" have looked?

Most of us will never know the answer to that question, but there are a few who do. In addition to director Robert Zemeckis, other members of the cast and crew, and Stoltz himself, there are one group of regular folks out there who had a very up close and personal experience with Stoltz-as-Marty McFly once upon a time. According to an interview from 2014 with "Weird Science" star Ilan Mitchell-Smith, he and Stoltz were both on the Universal lot shooting their respective movies in 1984, when one day Stoltz procured a golf cart and playfully terrorized a group of tourists on the Universal Studios tram tour. Little did those tourists realize that they were getting a little glimpse into an alternate 1985.

As Mitchell-Smith told the blog Kickin' It Old School (via Rediscover the '80s), the day of his and Stoltz's tour tram strafing run began innocuously:

"I was on a lunch break, and I saw Eric Stoltz driving up in one of the golf carts that PAs and crew use to get around the lot. It turns out that he had somehow stolen this thing and he asked if I wanted to ride around a bit. At first we just toodled around the studio, chatting and looking at all of the sets and actors from the other films and shows."

However, once Stoltz spotted the Universal Studios tram packed with tourists, something possessed him. Mitchell-Smith continued:

"For the next half hour Eric assaulted this tram like a WWII fighter pilot going after a bomber. He first circled around to charge the flank of the thing at top golfing speed (which is faster than you would expect), only to peel off at the last minute among the shrieks of fear from the tram passengers. Circling again, we charged another part of the tram, and then another, and then another, and the tourists were yelling and throwing up their hands and getting out of their seats to avoid what they thought was going to be an accident at any moment."

The irony and pop-culture oddity of the encounter was not lost on Mitchell-Smith. As he observed, those tourists may have been freaked out at the time, but loads of folks in the modern day would gladly take their place if it were possible: "Any '80s fan today would have absolutely loved to see, in full wardrobe, Marty McFly and Wyatt Donnelly relentlessly attacking the Universal Tour in a stolen golf cart."

Beyond the surreal nature of that incident, there may be something in it that we can use to infer what Stoltz's Marty would've been like had he finished "Back to the Future." Lea Thompson (who, along with Mitchell-Smith, starred with Stoltz in 1984's "The Wild Life") and other "Back to the Future" co-stars and filmmakers have gone on record saying the biggest factor in Stoltz losing the part was his commitment to method acting. Thompson told Vulture that "Eric had such an intensity," and allegedly his method included insisting that he be referred to off-camera as Marty and other such eccentricities. What little footage of Stoltz's performance has been publicly released bears that intensity out, as his Marty seems to have none of the breezy, more affable qualities that Fox brought to him.

With this in mind, it makes a little more sense why Stoltz's idea of a good time was to steal a golf cart and "attack" a tour tram with it. It implies that his Marty was less of a good-natured but insecure "slacker" and had more of a rebellious chip on his shoulder. It's not Stoltz's fault entirely, however, as "Back to the Future" does have enormously weighty life-or-death stakes baked into its premise and plot. Still, his casting wasn't right for the character or the film, as it needed the comedic element Stoltz wasn't bringing. Thankfully, the actor eventually found his niche, including being part of the ensemble cast of 1990's "Memphis Belle," in which he portrays a crewmember of the titular World War II B-17. Given the above story, it seems like that film was the one that was really meant to be for Stoltz.