Producers of the beloved 1985 time-travel comedy Back to the Future actually filmed more than five weeks of the movie with dramatic actor Eric Stoltz in the lead role before firing him for being way too depressing.

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Producers of the beloved 1985 time-travel comedy Back to the Future actually filmed more than five weeks of the movie with dramatic actor Eric Stoltz in the lead role before firing him for being way too depressing. Stoltz was a hardcore method actor who refused to break character, insisting that everyone call him Marty on set and playing the comedic teen time traveler with the grim intensity of a Greek tragedy. Director Robert Zemeckis eventually realized the movie was turning into a bleak psychological thriller instead of a fun summer romp, so he begged Michael J Fox to take over the role while working simultaneously on his sitcom Family Ties. The studio essentially flushed millions of dollars down the drain just to reshoot a third of the movie, which is a hilarious reminder that being an insufferable, pretentious artist can absolutely get you fired from a flying car movie