Fun
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Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Our childhoods would have been very different if this audition went well. Entertainment Tonight reported that the 35th anniversary Blu-Ray edition of Back To The Future contains casting tapes for the role of Marty McFly featuring Ben Stiller, among others. Michael J. Fox was ultimately cast in the role, but not before Stiller, Jon Cryer, Peter Deluise, C. Thomas Howell, and Billy Zane all tried out for it.
In the video above, a young Stiller, who was 18 or 19 around the time of the audition, plays opposite the younger version of his mother, Lorraine, as they go on an awkward date. For comparison, you can see the version starring Fox, with Lea Thompson as his mother, below. We’d say Ben’s version of Marty gives off a more brooding vibe and, maybe it’s the hair, but it’s almost Travolta-esque.
It’s fascinating to see a throwback or a pre-fame Stiller, who wouldn’t score a film role till 1987 when he was cast in the John Cusack film Hot Pursuit, and wouldn’t have his first real leading film role until 1994’s Reality Bites.
Of course, nothing compares to the Nicolas Cage audition, courtesy of Andy Samberg in the classic Saturday Night Live clip.
