Michael J. Fox faced intense burnout while simultaneously filming the hit TV show Family Ties and the blockbuster movie Back to the Future in the 1980s. His new memoir, released on October 14, details the demanding schedule he endured as he juggled these two major roles, revealing how his relentless work hours contributed to exhaustion and personal struggle.
A Grueling Schedule Between Family Ties and Back to the Future
In Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum, Fox recalls working incredible 20-hour days splitting time between playing Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties and Marty McFly in Back to the Future. He described this period as overwhelming, writing,
“During three long months, I was Alex, I was Marty, and I was Mike. That’s two too many. In order to complete my work, at least one of them had to go, and Mike was the odd man out,”
Fox, 64, explains.
“This is the story of what happened during that fateful period, when I completed the third season of Family Ties while also filming Back to the Future. I was Alex P. Keaton during the day, and Marty McFly at night.”
The actor admitted that the grueling demands left little time for himself. He shared, working those exhausting days
“left little time to be me”
and added that it has taken him
“four decades to piece it all together.”
His candid reflections reveal the mental and physical toll exacted by the intense workload during that time.
How Michael J. Fox Managed His Intense Workdays
Fox detailed the typical Monday of his routine, beginning at 9:00 a.m. when Family Ties filming started. Each workday ended only to shift immediately to the Back to the Future set, often late into the night. He wrote,
“This will be my earliest release of the week. I grab something to eat in my dressing room, tuck my Back to the Future script under my arm, and by 5:15, I’m in the teamster-driven station wagon, headed to Universal.”
On these commutes, Fox forced himself to shift from one character to the other, reflecting,
“I crack open my Back to the Future script to the scene we’re shooting that night, and I begin to memorize Marty’s lines. Somewhere over the Cahuenga Pass, I manage to push Alex’s voice out of my head and tune in Marty — his cadences, his incredulous crackle.”
Monday nights frequently stretched into early Tuesday mornings, with filming wrapping at 2:30 a.m. and any sleep coming well after 3:15 a.m. The following days advanced similarly. Upon waking Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m., Fox found
“a revised Family Ties script waiting outside my apartment door,”
starting rehearsals right away and then heading back to Back to the Future in the evening for another overnight shoot.
When asked about memorizing such a vast amount of dialogue, Fox explained his unique approach:
“People often ask me how I memorize that much dialogue. My method has always been the same: I don’t memorize the lines; I absorb them. I take pictures with my eyes and imprint them on my brain.”
The Demands of Live Performances and Late-Night Shoots
Friday was the most intense day each week because of the live taping of Family Ties, which required Fox to perform before a studio audience and then return to the film set afterward. He recalled,
“In the minutes leading up to the audience taping, I feel a burst of adrenaline. It’s ironic, but for all the effort it took to get to this point, I feel more energized than enervated. I love to work, especially under the pressure of a live performance. It’s catalytic to me.”
Though the live performance ended around 11:00 p.m., Fox still needed to shoot more scenes for Back to the Future. He described how Fridays were
“definitely the most demanding days for cast and crew,”
stating,
“Because of my late arrival, we are forced to shoot through the night. We wrap at sunrise. I don’t even remember being driven home.”
Reflecting on the Long-Term Impact and Future Boy’s Release
Michael J. Fox’s memoir does more than celebrate iconic moments from Back to the Future; it also sheds light on the immense burnout that accompanied his early success. By sharing these behind-the-scenes struggles, Fox offers a candid view into the pressures actors face and the sacrifices involved in balancing multiple major projects.
Future Boy is now available, providing readers an inside look at both the remarkable accomplishments and personal challenges Fox navigated during one of the most demanding periods of his career.
