Though the original Back to the Future is widely considered to be the better film, there is a lingering fascination with its ambitious and somewhat corny sequel that has only grown as we inched closer and closer to the “future” of 2015 that the now 25-year-old film portrays.
Remarkably, some of the technological advances that were forecast in the film have come to be — like Skype, flat screen TVs, tablets, and flying cars — but overall there is little resemblance between the here and now and Back to the Future 2’s version of the future. In a lot of ways, that sucks, but for the cast of the film that is good news because some of those folks looked like a wreck in the future.
How do they look now? Scroll down to gawk and read about what Biff, George McFly #2, and the rest have been up to.
Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox)
The Michael J. Fox show was a prodigious failure for NBC and Fox, but his appearances on The Good Wife persist and he’s always a welcome presence on television. Amazingly, Fox hasn’t had a major role in a movie since 1996’s Mars Attacks and The Frighteners.
Doctor Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd)
Christopher Lloyd has filmed two primetime guest spots and a cameo in the amount of time that it took for you to read this sentence. Some of his recent highlights include an appearance in the Clue themed episode of Psych and a cameo as Doc Brown in A Million Ways to Die in the West.
Lorraine (Lea Thompson)
Lea Thompson could have coasted after the glory that was Caroline in the City (not a joke) but instead she stayed hungry and kept on keeping on. Recently she starred in Left Behind as Nic Cage’s wife and spent some time on Dancing With the Stars. If Marvel grows a pair and gives a Howard the Duck reboot the greenlight, Thompson better have a role.
Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue)
Elisabeth Shue has also known the hard and bumpy path that comes from loving a Nic Cage character thanks to her Oscar nominated turn in Leaving Las Vegas. The second of the two actresses to play Marty’s girlfriend Jennifer (technically, it’s three if you count Melora Hardin), Shue has continued to work steadily since the dawn of the 90s and the end of her time as a blockbuster lucky charm. She’s presently co-starring on the OG CSI as Julie Finlay.
Biff/Griff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson)
Wilson has embraced the dark art of stand-up comedy while still taking on the occasional supporting role. His last big live screen role was in The Heat. He’s also done voice work on SpongeBob SquarePants.
Strickland (James Tolkan)
James Tolkan appeared as Judge Fiddler opposite Al Pacino’s hair in HBO’s Phil Spector movie in 2013.
George McFly (Jeffrey Weissman)
Jeffrey Weissman had the weird task of being asked to play George McFly while being made-up to resemble Crispin Glover, who had played the character in the first film. Weissman hasn’t exactly gone on to big screen stardom in the years that followed, but he has lived what sounds like a really interesting life thanks to his work as an expert Stan Laurel impersonator for Universal Studios and their theme parks.
Director Robert Zemeckis
After moving on from the Back to the Future franchise, Zemeckis found success as a producer and director, most notably with Forrest Gump, Castaway, and The Polar Express. He also got the Tales from the Crypt series on the air, which is deed for which I am eternally grateful. Zemeckis’ next film is called The Walk and it’s about the French daredevil who walked between the two towers of The World Trade Center in 1974.
Screenwriter Bob Gale
Though he wrote and co-created what may be the most iconic film franchise of the 80s, Bob Gale hasn’t done much since the end of the Back to the Future trilogy. His last project was the little-seen but star-studded Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road which he wrote and directed in 2002.
Producer Steven Spielberg
This dude executive produced The Animaniacs. Nuff said.
