Back to the Future was a surprise smash hit for Universal in 1985, although that looked far from certain during production. Originally, Eric Stoltz was cast as Marty McFly opposite Claudia Wells as his girlfriend Jennifer Parker – however, the pair only shot one thing together. The actress shared her memories during an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk while in London to see Back to the Future the Musical.
Wells shared: “I was, yes absolutely. Eric and I did photos in the backlot that were supposed to be in his wallet. I still have a copy of it.”
However, apart from this, the Jennifer star didn’t shoot anything else with the original Marty as she’d been contracted for a TV gig she couldn’t get out of, so was dropped from the role.
Melora Hardin was then cast as the girlfriend, but when Eric was fired a few weeks into shooting she was dropped too. The reason was that she was taller than Michael J Fox and the women on the crew were adamant that a high school girl wouldn’t date a boy shorter than them.
Enough time had gone by and Wells was not only available to play Jennifer in the movie again but is 5’3 to Fox’s 5’4, while Hardin is around 5’7.
The Back to the Future star told us: “I actually got my part back because of height. Amazing completely meant to be!”
The first scene she shot as Jennifer was the time travel movie’s big finale. This is when Marty goes to his garage and is reunited with her before Doc Brown suddenly appears in the DeLorean having travelled back to 1985 from 2015.
It was on this day that Wells was taken aback by how the production was run as she filmed with Fox and Christopher Lloyd.
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Upon Back to the Future’s release in 1985, Wells was “utterly and completely shocked” by the film’s success. She pointed out how most movies at that time would only be in cinemas for two months, but the sci-fi blockbuster remained showing for an unheard-of nine at that time.
The 56-year-old added: “It seems as if every single year it’s more famous than the previous year because a new generation watches it, parents with their children. It’s extraordinary. Back to the Future is a part of my life every single day.”
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