For millions of movie fans, Jeffrey Weissman will forever be connected to Hill Valley.
Weissman stepped into the role of George McFly for Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III, joining one of cinema’s most beloved franchises under circumstances that would become nearly as fascinating as the movies themselves.
But during an extended conversation with Stream Punk Entertainment, Weissman made clear that his career — spanning more than four decades — contains considerably more than one trip in a DeLorean.
From working with George Miller and John Lithgow on Twilight Zone: The Movie to Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider, independent filmmaking and his continued connection with the Back to the Future family, Weissman has accumulated the kind of stories only a lifetime in entertainment can produce.
One of the most interesting involved how he became George McFly in the first place.
Weissman recalled initially receiving a call about serving as a photo double for Crispin Glover, whom he already knew after working with him on an American Film Institute project in 1983. Weissman went through meetings, an audition and extensive makeup testing before discovering the situation was considerably bigger than he originally realized.
During a makeup test, cinematographer Dean Cundey delivered the comment that changed everything: “I think we got Crispin without the trouble.”
Soon afterward, makeup designer Ken Chase told Weissman that Glover was out and he would be playing George. What followed remains one of the most debated casting situations in Hollywood history.
Weissman said he eventually became uncomfortable with aspects of how Glover’s likeness was incorporated into the finished movie, particularly the use of a life mask in creating his George McFly makeup. Weissman described the situation as “morally unacceptable” and said his involvement in Glover’s eventual case contributed to professional consequences for him afterward.
Yet his memories of actually making the movies also include plenty of affection.
Playing the older George McFly required Weissman to spend extended periods suspended upside down. The makeup alone could take roughly four hours, while shooting schedules became exhausting because Michael J. Fox was simultaneously finishing Family Ties. Weissman recalled workdays stretching to 19, 21 and even 26 hours during the sequences inside the futuristic McFly home.
Decades later, however, it is the relationships that seem to matter most.
Weissman described the Back to the Future cast as a family and spoke warmly about reunions that have brought the performers back together around the world.
His memories of Michael J. Fox were particularly emotional.
At a 2008 reunion, Fox unexpectedly appeared while promoting his book. Weissman recalled cast members becoming emotional as they saw firsthand how Parkinson’s disease was affecting their friend. Years later, Weissman continued to marvel at Fox’s humor, intelligence and resilience, calling him an inspiration to many.
Weissman has also used the franchise’s enduring popularity to support Parkinson’s-related causes, including producing a Back to the Future cruise in 2015 and organizing events connected with filming locations from Part III. He said Fox has continued supporting those efforts when asked, despite the enormous demands placed upon him.
But Hill Valley represents only part of Weissman’s journey.
Years earlier, he worked with director George Miller on Twilight Zone: The Movie. Weissman remembered Miller arriving on the Warner Bros. lot with tremendous enthusiasm and encouraging John Lithgow to make his performance bigger rather than restraining his theatrical instincts. Weissman, himself rooted in stage performance, remembered the production as a special ensemble experience.
Then there was Pale Rider.
Weissman described spending six weeks on location playing cowboy for Clint Eastwood as a dream experience. His stories included Eastwood’s famously efficient directing style — sometimes capturing rehearsals rather than shooting numerous formal takes — and even eating steak and lobster on a mountain after Eastwood replaced a caterer he disliked.
His career has continued far beyond those studio productions.
Weissman discussed Savior of None, an independent drama that gave him the opportunity to tackle unusually heavy material alongside Vernon Wells, as well as No Address, featuring William Baldwin, Kristanna Loken, Beverly D’Angelo and Ashanti. He also highlighted Siblings, a dark independent comedy, and Sherlock Holmes and the True Believer, in which he portrays Professor James Moriarty.
That continued appetite for acting may ultimately provide the best way to understand Jeffrey Weissman’s career.
Back to the Future gave him a permanent place inside one of the most recognizable franchises in film history, but it also brought complications that followed him long after production ended. Rather than allowing those experiences to define the entirety of his story, Weissman kept moving.
More than 35 years after Back to the Future Part II, he still travels to conventions, reunites with castmates, works on independent projects and shares stories from sets populated by some of Hollywood’s most recognizable names.
George McFly may have introduced generations of moviegoers to Jeffrey Weissman.
His journey since then shows there was always much more to the actor than Hill Valley.
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