The Real Reason Crispin Glover Quit Back to the Future & How It Changed Hollywood
The case of one actor can become a catalyst for the entire industry to change its rules.
In Back to the Future one of the main characters of the story is George McFly – Marty McFly's father. His character was played by Crispin Glover.
In Back to the Future Part II this character is also present. But did you notice that he is played by a different actor? Probably not. But this change became the basis for significant changes in the film industry.
Glover Refused to Star in Back to the Future Part II
On the set of Back to the Future Robert Zemeckis and Crispin Glover had an argument – the actor thought that the ending of the movie was wrong, because it carried the message that wealth makes you happy.
Zemeckis corrected the script slightly, but the misunderstanding between the director and the actor remained. The explosion occurred during the preparations for the shooting of the second part. Glover returned the script with a refusal: the actor did not like the simplified line of his character. However, according to the producers, Crispin demanded a fee similar to that of Michael J. Fox.
Anyway, when the studio started filming the sequel to Back to the Future, Crispin Glover was not invited. His character was still present in the script, so the filmmakers simply cast a similar actor and enhanced his resemblance to Crispin Glover with plastic makeup.
Moreover, Back to the Future Part II used footage from the first installment – so Crispin Glover, without knowing it, played in the second part. And he was not paid.
Crispin Glover's Case Changed the Hollywood Rules
Back to the Future Part II was released in 1989. Crispin Glover watched the movie, saw that his character was played by someone who looked as much as possible like him, and went to court.
The lawsuit ended with an undisclosed amount of compensation (an unconfirmed amount of $760,000 was mentioned). And the Screen Actors Guild added a new rule prohibiting intentionally creating a resemblance to a character played by another actor.
Thanks to this case, it has become much easier for actors to prove that their look has been illegally copied.
So now, when you watch another installment of The Terminator and wonder why the filmmakers chose actors for the roles of Sarah Connor and John Connor who are as different as possible from those who played those characters before, you know that this was done on purpose.