When Crispin Glover had an argument about a broomstick
Crispin Glover, the famously eccentric Hollywood actor and star of such iconic movies and TV shows as Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future and American Gods, where he plays Mr. World, a sinister and entirely egotistical individual who commands the screen anytime he appears, has carried a very specific creative vision throughout his career.
Despite several celebrated appearances across Hollywood and independent cinema, nothing has done more for his career than his role in Zemeckis’ Back to the Future, a film that is still considered one of the greatest family movies ever made. Released at the height of industry commercialism in the mid-1980s, the sci-fi flick told the story of a high-school student named Marty (Michael J. Fox), who is sent 30 years into the past with his time-travelling partner Doc Brown.
Glover shows up as the younger version of Marty’s father, George McFly, a rather fragile and unconfident version of the man he will be in the future. Behind the scenes, however, he was far more vocal, getting into a heated argument with the filmmaker about his wishes to use a broomstick in a certain scene.
Recalling the event, Fox stated in a 2020 interview with The Guardian, “I haven’t spoken to Crispin since the movie, but I always liked him. I remember on the first movie, him and Bob Zemeckis really going at each other about this one scene: Crispin wanted to do it with a broom, and Bob didn’t, and oh my God! The indignation”.
Continuing, Fox added: “As soon as they moved on and it was safe, I poked my head out of the dressing room, and Chris [Lloyd] poked his head out, and we looked at one another and were like, ‘Thank God that was nothing to do with us!’”.
A celebrated aspect of the classic movie, fans expected Glover to appear in 1989’s Back to the Future Part II, yet for some reason, the actor wasn’t included in the cast. Instead, a mould of Glover’s face was used on top of actor Jeffrey Weissman, a decision that infuriated Glover, who would file a lawsuit against the production.
Speaking about the controversy in a later interview, Glover explained that he was most upset with the fact that his likeness was used without his consent. “Had they only hired another actor, which is kind of what I thought had happened, that would have been totally legal, and I would have been completely fine with that,” he stated, eventually taking a settlement on the matter.
The incident ties in nicely with contemporary concerns regarding AI, with the fear regarding consent of likeness coming up as a major point of contention during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Take a look at Crispin Glover discussing his fury at the decision of the Back to the Future Part II production below.
