This article was originally published on flicksided.com as Eric Stoltz and Melora Hardin were originally cast as the leads in 'Back to the Future'.

Movie and pop culture history would have looked dramatically different if producers had stuck with the original actor cast to play Marty McFly in Back to the Future: Eric Stoltz. It didn’t.

Related: Michael J. Fox Recreates 2 Iconic Moments from Back to the Future with Huey Lewis and James Tolkan During Weekend Appearance So, actor Eric Stoltz was cast as McFly. But the decision was ...

but few cases are as infamous as the one that impacted Back to the Future (1985). Before Michael J. Fox accepted the part that made him a household name, Eric Stoltz took a crack at playing Marty ...

Alongside these leading men, Claudia Wells was cast as Marty’s girlfriend ... It is a little wild to consider that Eric Stoltz, initially pegged for Back to the Future, was almost the iconic ...

When Back to the Future started filming, Marty McFly was played not by Michael J. Fox, but by Eric ... Stoltz — who was understandably devastated. When the director informed the rest of the cast ...

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 ...

Michael J. Fox in 1985's 'Back to the Future' (left), Eric Stoltz in the 1980s ...

Fox, 63, spoke about the film's initial casting alongside Christopher Lloyd at a Back to the Future panel at Calgary ... David Kotsibie So, actor Eric Stoltz was cast as McFly.

While Michael J. Fox wasn't the first actor hired to play Marty McFly in the 1985 film Back to the Future, the man who was, actor Eric Stoltz, has no hard feelings — in fact, the two are friends.