Christopher Lloyd

Christopher Lloyd is an American veteran actor, voice actor, and comedian who played the role of Kruge in . However, he is perhaps best recognized for his roles on the television series Taxi and the Back to the Future film series.
Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Lloyd attended the prestigious in Massachusetts and later Staples High School in Connecticut, graduating from the latter in 1957. Since embarking on a career in acting, he has appeared in over a hundred film and television projects as well as over two hundred stage productions, and has become a highly recognized figure in show business.
== Famous roles ==
Lloyd first rose to fame as Reverend Jim Ignatowski on the ABC (and later NBC) television comedy also starring Carol Kane. Lloyd won two s for his role as the lovable, burnt-out Ignatowski, one in 1982 and another in 1983. Coincidentally (as revealed in the episode "Jim Joins the Network"), Lloyd's character was a huge fan of and resented NBC's decision to cancel the show. However, one of his qualms about the series was the Romulan Commander (in ), whom he believed "did things no Romulan would ever do."
On film, Lloyd is probably best recognized for his portrayal of the eccentric inventor, Dr. Emmett L. "Doc" Brown, in the popular Back to the Future (1985-1990) ['BTTF']. This role not only earned him a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, but also granted him worldwide recognition and status as a cinematic icon. The BTTF film series co-starred Michael J Fox, Lea Thompson, Ivy Bethune, Jeff O'Haco, and Sachi Parker. He continued portraying Doc Brown in Back to the Future: The Ride and the live action segments of Back to the Future: The Animated Series. Several other actors involved:
*Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen in The film trilogy, the animated series and The Ride.
*Neil Ross as the Biff Tannen Museum narrator in Back to the Future, Part II.
Lloyd reprised the role in 2010 for Telltale Games Back to the Future: The Game. The game includes voice work from Roger L. Jackson, who voices several characters including the father of Emmett Brown.
Outside of the BTTF franchise, Lloyd also played Emmett Brown in The Earth Day Special, which included Kelsey Grammer in the role of Dr. Fraiser Crane and Robin Williams as Everyman.
Another role for which he is well-remembered – and for which he received a second Saturn Award nomination – is that of the sinister Judge Doom in 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, co-starring Joanna Cassidy and David L. Lander. He also had a memorable turn as in the 1991 film The Addams Family and its 1993 sequel Addams Family Values, also starring Carol Kane. Both of these films co-starred Carel Struycken as the Addams family's butler Lurch.
== Stage productions ==
Lloyd's first stage performance as a member of the was a production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1961, co-starring Ellen Geer. He made his Broadway debut in the play Red, White and Maddox, which ran for forty-one performances in 1969. 
In 1973, Lloyd played the title role in Peter Handke's play Kaspar, for which he won an Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance. His subsequent stage credits include a production of MacBeth, Yale University productions of The Possessed and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and an off-Broadway production of In the Boom Boom Room.
From October 1974 through May 1975, Lloyd performed as Bill Cracker in the play Happy End at the Yale Repertory Theatre. When the play was brought to Broadway in 1977 (with Frank Kopyc working as a performer and understudy), Lloyd was unable to perform on opening night due to a leg injury sustained in a stage fall, and Bob Gunton went on in his place. Lloyd soon resumed his role, but had to do so on crutches. 
Lloyd's later stage credits include productions of Waiting for Godot, Oliver!, and the two-person play The Unexpected Man. His most recent Broadway production was Morning's at Seven in 2002. More recently, Lloyd played Pellinore in the New York Philharmonic's production of the musical play Camelot at Avery Fisher Hall from 7 May to 10 May 2008. The May 8th performance was broadcast nationwide on PBS as part of the Live from Lincoln Center series. 
== Early film work ==
Lloyd made his feature film debut in 1975's Best Picture Academy Award-winner One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, playing Max Taber, one of the inmates at the mental institute which is the film's primary setting. Fellow Trek alumni Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco, and Vincent Schiavelli also starred in this film. Three years later, Lloyd had a supporting role in the comic western Goin' South, directed by and starring his Cuckoo's Nest co-star and co-starring the likes of Ed Begley, Jr., Georgia Schmidt, and Tracey Walter.
The year 1979 proved to be a busy one for Lloyd. Not only did he join the cast of Taxi, but he also appeared with his Cuckoo's Nest co-star Louise Fletcher, as well as Dick Miller and Phillip Richard Allen, in the gangster drama The Lady in Red. That same year, Lloyd co-starred with Jeff Corey, Peter Weller, Noble Willingham, John Schuck, and Cuckoo's Nest co-stars Peter Brocco and Vincent Schiavelli in Butch and Sundance: The Early Days. Also in 1979, Lloyd joined John Savage, Ronny Cox, Richard Herd, K Callan, Michael Pataki, Phillip Richard Allen, and John de Lancie as part of the cast of the acclaimed drama The Onion Field.
Lloyd's notable film work while Taxi was still in production included (1980, with Richard Herd, Marianna Hill, and Craig Wasson), (1981, with starring John Colicos and Albert Henderson), and (1983, with Terri Garr, Graham Jarvis, Carolyn Seymour, Bruce French, Michael Ensign, and Derek McGrath).
After Taxi was canceled in 1983, Lloyd played the Red Lectroid John Bigboote (that's "Bigboo-tay") in (1983, co-starring with Butch and Sundance co-stars Peter Weller, Vincent Schiavelli, as well as Clancy Brown and Robert Ito). Since its release, Buckaroo Banzai has achieved a cult following and has even influenced other science fiction works: numerous in-joke references to this film have been made in Star Trek productions. The following year, Lloyd himself was part of a Star Trek production when Leonard Nimoy cast him as the villainous Kruge in Star Trek III. Nimoy initially wanted Edward James Olmos to play the part, but the role went to Lloyd instead.
== Later films ==
Although he has been most inclined to perform in comedic roles, such as those of Buckaroo Banzai, 1985's Clue (co-starring Michael McKean) and 1989's The Dream Team, Lloyd has often proven his versatility with dramatic turns in such projects as the 1995 crime drama Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (which also featured Bill Cobbs, Don Stark, Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr., Bill Bolender, and Bill Erwin) and the 1993 drama Twenty Bucks. He won an Independent Spirit Award for his role as a bank robber in Twenty Bucks, which also starred Matt Frewer and Concetta Tomei.
Lloyd appeared opposite Paul Winfield in the 1993 adaptation of the comic strip Dennis the Menace (co-starring Bill Erwin). In 1994, he starred in Camp Nowhere, which featured TNG's Jonathan Frakes, Kate Mulgrew, and fellow Trek actors John Putch and Ron Fassler. Later that year, Lloyd appeared in and lent his voice to the fantasy film The Pagemaster, which also featured the voices of Patrick Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Picardo, and Leonard Nimoy. 
In the 1999 film My Favorite Martian, Lloyd starred as Uncle Martin the Martian, a role which TNG actor Ray Walston originated in the classic TV sitcom on which it is based. Walston himself also had a supporting role in the film, as did Wallace Shawn and Beau Billingslea. Other notable films in which Lloyd starred include Eight Men Out (1988, with Gordon Clapp, Kevin Tighe, and ) and Angels in the Outfield (1994, with Neal McDonough). In the latter, Lloyd played Al, the boss angel, a role which he reprised in a 1997 TV sequel called Angels in the Endzone, with Paul Dooley.
Lloyd lent his voice to several animated films, including (1990, with Richard Libertini), (1997, with Kelsey Grammer, Kirsten Dunst, Glenn Harris, and Andrea Martin), and (2002, with Paul Sorvino and Vincent Schiavelli). In 2008, his voice was heard in (2008), with Adrienne Barbeau and Ed Begley, Jr.) and The Tale of Despereaux (with Frank Langella). He also did voice work for the animated features Foodfight!}} (with Greg Ellis) and Delhi Safari (with Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams).
Lloyd appeared in (2010), co-starring his My Favorite Martian co-star Wallace Shawn. That same year, Lloyd and actress Dina Meyer appeared in the horror remake Piranha 3-D, work they received through casting director and producer Alyssa Weisberg. Lloyd reprised his role from this film in (2012).
Lloyd worked with Jeffrey Combs on , a spin-off of The Wizard of Oz set in New York in which Lloyd played the Wizard. His later films include Magic (with Greg Grunberg), (2011, with Daniel Roebuck), (2012, with Diora Baird, Clint Howard, and Richard Riehle), Adventures of Serial Buddies (with Christopher McDonald), Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Treasure (with Lee Arenberg) and Super Athlete (with Faran Tahir and Tony Todd).
== Television ==
Besides his role on Taxi, Lloyd's television credits include guest appearances on several popular series, from Barney Miller (starring Ron Glass and James Gregory) and Cheers (along with Christopher Carroll and Kelsey Grammer) to Malcolm in the Middle and . In 1978, Lloyd appeared in the mini-series The Word, as did Diana Muldaur, Nehemiah Persoff, Allan Miller, Jonathan Banks, and star Kate Mulgrew.
Lloyd won an Emmy Award for his guest appearance on Road to Avonlea in 1992; among those who starred in this series were Star Trek guest stars Claire Rankin and Marc Worden. Lloyd and his Pagemaster co-star (and TNG star) Patrick Stewart appeared in in 1994, along with Matt Frewer, Graham Jarvis, David Paymer, Andrea Martin and Robin Williams. In 1995, Lloyd was the lead villain of Deadly Games (TV series)Deadly Games, of which Leonard Nimoy directed the pilot episode and was a creative consultant. TNG actors Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton appeared with Lloyd in two episodes of the series (Nimoy's son, Adam, also directed an episode).
In 2001, Lloyd co-starred with in . He has also lent his voice to such animated shows as The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and King of the Hill (with Pamela Segall). He was later a regular on (2005-2006).
In 2007, Lloyd appeared in an episode of CBS Paramount Television's with Next Generation star Wil Wheaton. Their episode revolves around a science fiction/comic book convention, the set of which was adorned with Star Trek posters and memorabilia. In the episode, entitled "Graphic," Lloyd plays the artist of a rare comic owned by (and stolen from) Wil Wheaton's character.
In 2009, Lloyd had a role in NBC's , as did Jason Alexander and Billy Campbell. Lloyd was also seen in Sci-Fi Channel's , with Gwynyth Walsh. 
In 2010, Lloyd made a guest appearance on NBC's , on which Voyager star Robert Duncan McNeill was a producer and Bonita Friedericy was a regular. In the show, Lloyd played a therapist whom the protagonist, Chuck Bartowski, visits when the pressures of the spy business becomes too much to bear. 
In 2011, Lloyd guest-starred on , which was co-created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci, starring Joshua Jackson and John Noble. In 2013, Lloyd appeared in an episode of the comedy Raising Hope (with Ric Sarabia) and in an episode of , starring Corbin Bernsen.
On April 5, 2023, Lloyd appeared as Helgait in an episode of the third season of , which previously included appearances by Eugene Cordero, Clancy Brown, and Titus Welliver.
== Vincent Schiavelli ==
Lloyd has co-starred with the late Vincent Schiavelli at least eight times since the two of them first appeared together in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In addition to Butch and Sundance, Buckaroo Banzai, and Hey Arnold!, they shared the screen in the film Another Man, Another Chance (1977, also starring Michael Berryman) and three episodes of Taxi (1982-83). They later made brief appearances in 1999's Man on the Moon, a film depicting the life of their Taxi co-star .
== Other Trek connections ==
Additional projects in which Lloyd worked with other Star Trek alumni are listed below:
=== Films ===
* The Black Marble (1980, with Robert Foxworth, Barbara Babcock, John Hancock, Jorge Cervera, Jr., and Herta Ware)
* National Lampoon Goes to the Movies (1982, with Elisha Cook and Dick Miller)
* Joy of Sex (1984, with Jeanne Mori)
* Back to the Future (1985, with Lea Thompson)
* Miracles (1986, with Teri Garr and Charles Rocket)
* Walk Like a Man (1987, with Megan Parlen, Earl Boen, John McLiam, and Ellen Albertini Dow)
* Track 29 (1988, with Seymour Cassel and Leon Rippy)
* Back to the Future II (1989)
* Back to the Future III (1990)
* Why Me? (1990, with Michael J. Pollard, Tony Plana, Jack Kehler, and Lawrence Tierney)
* Suburban Commando (1991, with Tom Morga)
* Radioland Murders (1994, with Corbin Bernsen, Ellen Albertini Dow, and Michael McKean)
* Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie (1995, with Frank Gorshin and Bruce McGill)
* Cadillac Ranch (1996, with Jim Metzler and Kenneth Tigar)
* Changing Habits (1997, with Teri Garr and Bob Gunton)
* Baby Geniuses (1999, with Kim Cattrall)
* Wish You Were Dead (2002, with Clayton Landey)
* R.L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse (2003, with Michael McKean)
*Santa Buddies (2009, with Paul Rae )
*It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas (2009, with David Huddleston)
=== TV guest appearances ===
* Street Hawk pilot episode (1985, with James Avery, Lawrence Pressman, and Biff Yeager)
* Spin City episode "Back to the Future IV" (1999, with Alan Ruck)
* Masters of Horror episode "Valerie on the Stairs" (2006, with Tony Todd)
=== TV movies ===
* Money on the Side (1982, with Gary Graham)
* September Gun (1983, with Sally Kellerman and Clayton Landey)
* Old Friends (1984, with Stanley Kamel)
* The Cowboy and the Bellerina (1984, with Antoinette Bower and Michael Pataki)
* Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Pat Hobby Teamed with Genius (1987, with Molly Hagan and Wendy Schaal)
* T Bone N Weasel (1992, with Graham Jarvis)
* Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster (1992, with Bruce Gray and Bob Gunton)
* Rent-a-Kid (1995, with Matt McCoy)
* The Right to Remain Silent (1996, with Jack Shearer and Dey Young)
* Quicksilver Highway (1997, with Matt Frewer, Raphael Sbarge, and Bill Bolender)
* The Ransom of Red Chief (1998, with Alan Ruck, Richard Riehle, and Brad Greenquist)
* Alice in Wonderland (1999, with Whoopi Goldberg)
* The Big Time (2002, with John de Lancie, Pat Healy, and Dakin Matthews)
* Admissions (2004, with John Savage)
* Detective (2005, with Richard Riehle and Michael Shamus Wiles)
* A Perfect Day (2006, with Jude Ciccolella)
=== Miscellaneous ===
Mark Stark is an impressionist whose repertoire includes Christopher Lloyd.
== External links ==
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