Lea Thompson - IMDb IMDb Official Photos » Lea Katherine Thompson was born on May 31, 1961, in Rochester, Minnesota. She is the youngest of five children. Her parents are Barbara Anne (Barry) and Clifford Elwin "Cliff" Thompson. Since all her siblings were much older than she, Lea says it seemed like she had more than two parents. The family lived in the Starlight Motel, all the kids ... See full bio » Born: a list of 22 people created 08 Dec 2012 a list of 39 people created 08 Aug 2013 a list of 42 people created 31 Dec 2013 a list of 35 people created 3 months ago a list of 35 images created 1 month ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Lea Thompson's work have you seen? User Polls 5 wins & 5 nominations. See more awards » Known For 2016 American Dad! (TV Series) Caroline Duffy 2015 The Muppets.

(TV Series) Lea Thompson Teenaged Girl in Diner / Lorraine McFly - JOLO (2015) ... Teenaged Girl in Diner (voice) 2014 A to Z (TV Series) Lea Thompson 2011 The Cabin (TV Movie) Lily MacDougal 2010 Uncle Nigel (TV Movie) Abby Wells 2008 The Christmas Clause (TV Movie) Sophie 2007 A Life Interrupted (TV Movie) Debbie Smith 2003 Stealing Christmas (TV Movie) Sarah Gibson 1994 The Substitute Wife (TV Movie) Amy Hightower 1993 Stolen Babies (TV Movie) Annie Beales 1982 MysteryDisc: Murder, Anyone? (Video Game) Cecily 'Sissy' Loper 1998 The Unknown Cyclist (performer: "I'll Remember You") 1986 Howard the Duck (performer: "Hunger City", "Don't Turn Away (Reprise)", "It Don't Come Cheap", "Howard the Duck") Hide - El Finks (2008) ...

(additional material) Hide 2016 Cupcake Wars (TV Series) Herself - Contestant 2016 Hollywood Game Night (TV Series) Herself - Celebrity Player 2015 Rachael Ray (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2015 Inside Edition (TV Series documentary) Herself 2014-2015 Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) Herself / Herself - Dancing with the Stars 2014 The View (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2013-2014 Teens Wanna Know (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2014 The Queen Latifah Show (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2014 Good Morning America (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2014 HuffPost Live Conversations (TV Series) Herself 2014 The O'Reilly Factor (TV Series) Herself (segment "Watter's World") 2013 Life After (TV Series) Herself 2012 The Chew (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2012 Hollywood Saturday Night (TV Series) Herself - Guest Host 2011 The

 Talk (TV Series) Herself - Guest 2011 Ace of Cakes (TV Series) Herself 2010 Tales from the Future (TV Mini-Series documentary) Herself 2009 Releasing the Duck (Video documentary short) Herself 2008 Head Case (TV Series) Herself 2007 TV Land Confidential (TV Series documentary) Herself - Interviewee 2006 Celebrity Duets (TV Series) Herself 2006 E!

True Hollywood Story (TV Series documentary) Herself 2005 I Love the 80's 3-D (TV Series documentary) Herself 1999-2003 Hollywood Squares (TV Series) Herself 2002 I Love the '80s (TV Series documentary) Herself 2000 Broadway on Broadway (TV Movie) Herself - Performer ("Cabaret") 1998 Intimate Portrait (TV Series documentary) Herself 1997 The Daily Show (TV Series) Herself - Guest 1997 Crook & Chase (TV Series) Herself 1995 Showbiz Today (TV Series) Herself 1993 A Menace Named Dennis (TV Movie documentary) Herself 2015-2016 Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) Herself TV commercial for Twix (1984) See more » Publicity Listings: 2 Interviews | 7 Articles | 3 Pictorials | 7 Magazine Cover Photos | See more » Official Sites: Did You Know?

Personal Quote: [2012, on Article 99 (1992)] Wow, that's a crazy movie. That movie was interesting because I was eight months pregnant when I did it. My husband directed it, and there was another actress in that part, but the studio didn't like her, so they said, "You picked the wrong person, so get your wife to do it for very little money, 'cause she's already there on location in Kansas, anyway". So, yeah, I ... See more » Trivia: She appeared with both her daughters in _Mayor Cupcake (2011)_. The mother, daughter, sister relationships of their roles are the same ones they have in real life. See more » Star Sign: 'Back to the Future': Catching up with the cast 'Back to the Future': Catching up with the cast The 1985 classic is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a DVD/Blu-ray release this week. Post to Facebook 'Back to the Future': Catching up with the cast The 1985 classic is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a DVD/Blu-ray release this week.

Check out this story on USATODAY.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. 'Back to the Future': Catching up with the cast Bryan Alexander , USA TODAY 11:08 a.m. EDT October 21, 2015 x Share Thirty years after "Back to the Future" was released USA TODAY takes a look at where Lea Thompson who plays Lorraine is now. USA TODAY Lea Thompson starred in all three 'Back to the Future' movies. (Photo: Universal) Lea Thompson has run the gamut in her 30-year Hollywood career, from Dancing With the Stars to her own NBC sitcom, Caroline in the City. But to fans of the 1985 hit Back to the Future, she'll always be Lorraine Baines, mother to time-traveler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox). "This movie is definitely a part of me.

I am really happy to be known mostly around the world as Lorraine McFly," says Thompson, who also appeared in 1989's Back to the Future Part II and 1990's Back to the Future Part III. A 30th anniversary DVD/Blu-ray release of the trilogy is out this week. "Even if my body of work is really big, people know me because of these movies," says Thompson, 54. "It's just an amazing part." (Photo: AP) The role in the Robert Zemeckis-directed original gave Thompson a powerful springboard early in her career that still helps. Chris Lloyd couldn't have foreseen this 'Future' "The best thing it did was establish me as a good actor. Whatever I've done that hasn't been great, people could always go, 'She was really good in Back to the Future. She must be a really good actor,' " says Thompson. "So it has protected me from some of the bad work I've done. It's hard to survive in Hollywood as a woman.

So I have taken some jobs that might not have been the best." 'Back to the Future' 30 years later: Lea Thompson Right now, Thompson is finishing the fourth season as Kathryn Kennish in ABC Family's Switched at Birth and is directing her own movie, The Year of Spectacular Men, with daughters Madelyn, 24, and Zoey, 20 (their dad is her husband, director Howard Deutch). And Thompson stays close with BTTF co-star Christopher Lloyd as they hit fan conventions: "We're keeping the dream alive." Here's what's happening with the other actors who have allowed the movie to travel through time: (Photo: Mark Sagliocco, Getty Images) Michael J. Fox (as Marty McFly) Fox already was an established star as Alex P. Keaton in NBC's Family Ties when he was brought on as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, replacing Eric Stoltz, who wasn't capturing the screwball energy that filmmakers were seeking. The beloved portrayal shot the Canadian-born actor to a new level of stardom.

He parlayed that into the two sequels and dramatic roles in the Vietnam movie Casualties of War (1989) and as a troubled magazine fact-checker in Bright Lights, Big City (1988). 'Back to the Future' 30 years later: Michael J. Fox Diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's disease in 1991, Fox announced his condition to the world in 1998. In 2000, he launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the same year he announced his retirement from ABC sitcom Spin City after his 100th episode. He returned to acting in 2012 and appears on CBS' The Good Wife as an attorney who suffers from a neurological condition. One of his three books is 2010's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future, a compendium of wisdom for graduates. Fox, 54, has been married to his Family Ties co-star, actress Tracy Pollan, since 1988. x Share Thirty years after the "Back to the Future" series was released USA TODAY takes a look at where Michael J. Fox is now.

USA TODAY (Photo: Universal Home Entertainment) Tom Wilson (as Biff Tannen) Wilson was the perfect BTTF villain Biff, reprising his bullying role in each movie. The actor has continued to work in movies (recently as the "beaten into submission" police Captain Woods in 2013 comedy The Heat) and on TV (Nickelodeon's upcoming School of Rock). He voices characters in SpongeBob SquarePants and a loud egomaniacal banana on Nickelodeon's Pig Goat Banana Cricket. (Photo: Copyright 2015, Tom Wilson) Wilson, 56, also continues to perform stand-up comedy. He's a trained painter who shows his work at his Big Pop Fun Gallery in Laguna Beach, Calif., with a show set for 2016. "I'm finishing a series of paintings that explore my unusual, iconic position in pop culture and pop art," says Wilson. (Photo: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) Claudia Wells (as Jennifer Parker) Wells appeared only in the original BTTF as Marty McFly's girlfriend.

But Wells says her career came to a halt when her mother's cancer caused her to drop out of the sequels (replaced by Elisabeth Shue) and acting. "(My mother's) health struggles took up so much of my heart and my life that I decided to not continue my career during those years," says Wells. In 1991, she opened a high-end men's resale shop, Armani Wells, in Studio City, Calif., near her home. Wells, 49, has returned to acting (including 2011's Alien Armageddon) and voiced Jennifer in 2011's Back to the Future: The Game. (Photo: Bobby Bank, WireImage) "That was beyond exciting and fun," says Wells, who travels around the world for BTTF events. "It makes my heart sing that I got to have all of these beautiful experiences, directly related to my having been the original Jennifer." James Tolkan (as Principal Strickland) Tolkan already had established himself as a hard-nosed actor before Back to the Future in roles such as the police lieutenant in 1973's Serpico.

But he cemented his place in pop culture as high school principal Gerald Strickland, telling Marty McFly, "You're a slacker." He's still repeating the line for fans today. Tolkan went on to appear in all three BTTF movies, including as Chief Marshal Strickland in Part III. He continued to portray forceful roles, such as the aircraft carrier commander in 1986's Top Gun. (Photo: Scott Everett White) But he'll next appear as what he calls "a sleepy piano-playing drunk" in the upcoming Western Bone Tomahawk (in theaters Friday). And he's actually a chill guy with wife of 44 years, Parmelee. "I'm living the good life in the Adirondacks (in upstate New York), with two Corgis, two cats and a near perfect wife," says Tolkan, 84. "I give thanks every day." (Photo: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) Crispin Glover (as George McFly) Glover memorably appeared as Marty McFly's Brylcreem-loving father George in the original BTTF, but parted ways with the franchise.

(Filmmakers have cited financial reasons, while Glover has told reporters there were creative differences.) He was replaced by an lookalike actor wearing prosthetics in the second BTTF. The eccentric Glover, 51, is still remembered for his bizarre appearance on Late Night With David Letterman in 1987, which ended with Letterman walking off the stage as Glover high-kicked the air. "He's definitely into being strange. Some can hang with that, and others don't have any patience for it," says Thompson. "The bottom line is that doesn't matter. He was brilliant in our movie." Glover has continued to act in off-center parts including the Knave of Hearts in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010). (Photo: Disney Enterprises) Donald Fullilove (as Goldie Wilson) Since appearing as Mayor Goldie Wilson in the original film and hovermobile salesman Goldie Wilson III in Part II, Fullilove, 57, has continued his television and film acting career, which has spanned 40 years. He has had recurring roles on the animated American Dad! and voiced Nurse George, who comes to take Carl Fredricksen away in Pixar's Up.

"History has proven Back to the Future to be one of the most important things I have ever done," says Fullilove. Lea Thompson | Futurepedia | Fandom powered by Wikia Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961 in Rochester, Minnesota, US ) is an American actress who portrayed Lorraine Baines McFly in all three movies of the Back to the Future trilogy , as well as Maggie McFly in Back to the Future Part III . Biography Lea Thompson was born in Rochester, Minnesota, on May 31 , 1961 , nine days earlier than Back to the Future co-star Michael J. Fox . Interestingly, Thompson was the youngest of five children, whereas Lorraine is the oldest of the five Baines children seen in 1955 . According to her imdb.com biography, she performed ballet and made 45 appearances for various companies, before quitting the field at age 19 after an unsuccessful audition before Mikhail Baryshnikov.

She turned to acting, and made her film debut in Jaws 3-D in 1983 , followed by roles in All the Right Moves (1983), Red Dawn ( 1984 ), and The Wild Life (1984). The Wild Life was the first of three films in which Thompson worked with actor Eric Stoltz . Thompson and Stoltz filmed some scenes together for Back to the Future in late 1984, as Lorraine Baines and Marty McFly , including Marty waking up in 1955. After Stoltz was fired from the film, Thompson reshot the scenes with Michael J. Fox. Thompson appeared with Stoltz again in 1987 's Some Kind of Wonderful, directed by Howard Deutch, whom she married in 1989 . Lea Thompson in circa 1995/6. After appearing in Part II and Part III of the Back to the Future trilogy, Thompson was cast as the mother of the 5-year old title character in 1993 's Dennis the Menace.

Christopher Lloyd was the villain in the same film; as in most of the trilogy, the two actors did not appear on screen at the same time, the exception being when Lorraine followed Marty to Doc 's home in Part I. Lea Thompson achieved star billing in the title role of the NBC television series Caroline in the City, which ran for three seasons from 1995 to 1998 . The only BTTF trilogy actor to appear on the comedy was Sean Gregory Sullivan (who had been part of Buford's gang in Part III). She was recently given top cast billing in the upcoming 2008 film, Exit Speed. She briefly reprised her role as Lorraine McFly in both the Robot Chicken episode "Major League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" & the Family Guy episode "Finders Keepers". Lea later voiced a Lorraine lookalike in the Family Guy episode "JOLO" in 2015 .

Lea Thompson - Biography - IMDb Lea Thompson Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (32) | Personal Quotes (10) Overview (3) 5' 3" (1.6 m) Mini Bio (1) Lea Katherine Thompson was born on May 31, 1961, in Rochester, Minnesota. She is the youngest of five children. Her parents are Barbara Anne (Barry) and Clifford Elwin "Cliff" Thompson. Since all her siblings were much older than she, Lea says it seemed like she had more than two parents. The family lived in the Starlight Motel, all the kids sharing a room. Things began to look up for the family when Lea's father got a job in Minneapolis, where the family moved. Lea's parents divorced when she was six, and her mother decided to maintain the family. This wasn't the easiest job, considering her mother was alcohol-addicted at the time. When she found the strength to quit drinking, she took a job playing the piano and singing in a bar to support Lea and her siblings. When Lea was seven, her mother remarried.

Ever since Lea was little, she loved to dance -- ballet to be exact. She would practice three to four hours every day. Her first role was as a mouse in "The Nutcracker". After Lea turned fourteen, she had performed in more than 45 ballets on stages, such as The Minnesota Dance Theatre, The Pennsylvania Ballet Company, and The Ballet Repertory. She won scholarships to The American Ballet Theatre and The San Francisco Ballet. At age nineteen, she auditioned for Mikhail Baryshnikov , who later told her that she was "a beautiful dancer... but too stocky". Lea knew her dreams had been crushed. At that point, she decided to turn to acting. She began working as a waitress, also making 22 Burger King commercials and a few Twix commercials. She was perfect for these parts simply because she was the average girl-down-the-street, from the Midwest. Everyone who knows her can't believe she was and still is so completely different...trying to be independent and fight against the system. In 1982, Lea made some type of a computer game or interactive movie known as "Murder, Anyone".

Her first role was in the movie, Jaws 3-D (1983), as a water ski bunny, although she couldn't swim or ski, which she still can't! There, she met Dennis Quaid , who became her fiancée and acting coach. Her next role was in All the Right Moves (1983), where she acted opposite Tom Cruise . Director Michael Chapman was so disappointed with her performance, that he almost fired her. Between 1983 and 1984, Lea appeared in other "teen" movies, such as Red Dawn (1984), The Wild Life (1984), and Going Undercover (aka Going Undercover (1985)), and believes it was lucky that, in these movies, they were able to use anyone who could walk and talk! Lea's biggest known accomplishment, and her big break, came from the first Back to the Future (1985). It was the biggest hit of 1985, and Lea was suddenly the most wanted actress. She could have her pick of any role she wanted to take on. She chose Howard the Duck (1986).

Although it was a George Lucas production, the critics turned the movie, and Lea, down. Afterwards, director Howard Deutch offered Lea a part in his movie, Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), but she refused. After he urged her to do it, she reconsidered. She won the Young Artist Award for best young actress. During filming, Howard and Lea fell in love, and she called it off with Dennis. She then went on to film The Wizard of Loneliness (1988), which was her first movie as a woman, rather than a youngster. Lea went on to film Back to the Future Part II (1989) and an episode of Tales from the Crypt (1989). She then married Howard Deutch . She continued filming Back to the Future Part III (1990), Montana (1990), and Article 99 (1992). Lea then took a break to stay home with her first born, Madelyn Deutch . She jumped back into acting in Dennis the Menace (1993), where she says she just played herself.

Then it was on to The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), Stolen Babies (1993), The Little Rascals (1994), and The Substitute Wife (1994). In 1994, she had her second child, Zoey Deutch . Lea then went into filming The Unspoken Truth (1995). It was then that she was first given the script of a new NBC sitcom, Caroline in the City (1995). It was probably the best decision Lea ever made. She won a People's Choice Award for best actress in a new sitcom. Unfortunately, with all of NBC's problems, Caroline in the City (1995) kept being moved to a worse and worse time slot, giving it horrible ratings. The show ended after only four seasons. Bad ideas from the creators (Julia, etc.) didn't help, either. Lea quickly went onto The Right to Remain Silent (1996), The Unknown Cyclist (1998), and A Will of Their Own (1998).

She also guest-starred in the Friends (1994) episode, Friends: The One with the Baby on the Bus (1995), as "Caroline Duffy", and on The Larry Sanders Show (1992). Lea also did some stage work, including starring as "Sally Bowles" in "Cabaret". The show toured and also appeared on Broadway. She then did "The Vagina Monologues" in L.A. She had a stint in a dramatic role as a Chief Deputy Assistant District Attorney, "Camille Paris", on For the People (2002). Thompson has starred in more than 30 films, 25 television movies, 4 television series, more than 20 ballets, and starred on Broadway in "Cabaret". Lea can currently be seen on ABC Family's Peabody Award winning hit show "Switched at Birth," where she acts and directs. Lea's movie credits include: "All the Right Moves," "Red Dawn," "Some Kind of Wonderful," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Howard The Duck"(star and vocals), Clint Eastwood's "J.

Edgar;" the 2014 Sundance favorite "Ping Pong Summer;" and soon to be released "Left Behind" starring Nicolas Cage. Lea lives in Los Angeles with her husband of twenty-five years, film/television director Howard Deutch, and their two talented daughters, Madelyn and Zoey, along with many dogs, fish, horses, chickens, a cat, tortoise, and parrot. She supports and often performs for breast cancer, mental health, and Alzheimer's charities. Lea is currently in pre-production on "The Year of Spectacular Men", a film written by her daughter Madelyn Deutch, and is writing her first book of essays. Lea Thompson will partner with international Mirrorball Trophy holder Artem Chigvintsev on the 19th season of "Dancing With The Stars." - IMDb Mini Biography By: dane youssef Spouse (1) ( 23 July 1989 - present) (2 children) Trivia (32) Was engaged to Dennis Quaid for about 3 years before marrying Howard Deutch . She met Quaid on the set of her first movie Jaws 3-D (1983).

Has two daughters, Madelyn Deutch (born March 23, 1991) and Zoey Deutch (born December 1, 1994) with her husband Howard Deutch . Attended Marshall-University High School (Minneapolis). Met husband Howard Deutch when he directed her in Some Kind of Wonderful (1987). Has appeared in Friends (1994) as her character from Caroline in the City (1995). "Friends" star Matthew Perry has appeared in "Caroline in the City" as his character Chandler Bing. Claims she was one of the few ballerinas at the American Ballet Theatre that didn't have an eating disorder. Wanted nothing more when she was at the American Ballet Theatre than to dance with the star dancer, Mikhail Baryshnikov . She was heartbroken when he remarked that she was "a beautiful dancer, but too stocky." Shortly after, she left the company. Won scholarships to the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre. Danced in more than 45 ballets with the ABT. Her brother, Andrew Thompson, was also a modern ballet dancer with the Colorado Ballet.

They both took ballet classes throughout their youth, and he helped her pay for her classes later on in life. It took approximately four hours to apply the makeup that would make her and co-stars Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson appear to be middle-aged adults in Back to the Future (1985). Her character's name in Back to the Future (1985) underwent numerous changes when the script was being written. In an early draft, her character was called Mary Ellen, and in later drafts, she was called Eileen before it finally became Lorraine. Younger sister of Coleen Goodrich , Andrew Thompson and Shannon Thompson Katona. Did her own singing in Howard the Duck (1986). She was in series of Burger King commercials in the early 1980's, the series also starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elisabeth Shue . She appeared with both her daughters in _Mayor Cupcake (2011)_. The mother, daughter, sister relationships of their roles are the same ones they have in real life. She sung with both her daughters in the 2008 A Night at Sardi's Bye Bye Birdie production to benefit Alzheimer's research.

In Back to the Future Part II (1989) a clip for Jaw 19 is mentioned in the movie, Lea was in a supporting role in the movie Jaws 3-D (1983). She met former fiancée, Dennis Quaid on the set of Jaws 3-D (1983). Her first role was as water skiing water show performer, she did not know how to water ski or even swim prior to being cast. She was Cecily "Sissy" Loper in the live action video game, MysteryDisc : Murder Anyone? in 1982. She has sung duets with both her daughters at a number of the What A Pair benefit concerts supporting breast cancer research. She played Salle Bowles in the musical Cabaret for 8 months. She is the mother of actress-writer Madelyn Deutch and actress Zoey Deutch . She directs and appears in the film _The Year of Spectacular Men (2016)_ with her daughters, Madelyn Deutch and Zoey Deutch'. The film's screenplay was authored by her daughter, Madelyn. She is of Irish, English, Scots-Irish, German, and distant Dutch, ancestry.

Has been best friends with Christopher Lloyd since they co-starred in Back to the Future. They have also done three movies together outside the trilogy. Personal Quotes (10) [2012, on J. Edgar (2011)] That was just really great. Y'know, when Clint Eastwood asks you to come and play, even if it's one scene, you go. He says, "Jump", you say, "How high?" And I was so curious to see how he works. I thought she was a really interesting character. After kind of researching her, I really wanted to see a whole movie on her. She was a real strange cat. She was a witness for the House Un-American Activities Committee, and she decided what line in what movie was a communist plot. I mean, imagine! Kind of kooky. So she and her politics were, like, really whacked. She was one of J. Edgar's beards. She kind of ended up being his girlfriend. It's not really in the movie, but she and another actress were kind of his girlfriends. So, she was also an actress, a stage mom, a writer... I really wanted to know more about her after doing my research.

But it was super fun to work with Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer , really fun to do a scene with them, and working in that environment with Clint Eastwood. He runs a set like nobody else I've ever been around. It's very quiet, it's very respectful, but it's very tense in a way, because you only get one take or maybe two. It's very church-like, which puts more pressure on the actors, because it's so quiet and focused. As a director and as an actor, I just really appreciated having that experience in my career, where I got to see how he works. I thought the perspective of the movie was so interesting, and it was brave of Clint Eastwood to make that movie, so I was happy to be part of it. [2012, on Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)] I never would've done it if it hadn't been for Howard the Duck (1986). I'd actually turned it down. And, then, when "Howard The Duck" was such a bomb that weekend, Eric Stoltz came and said, "Howard Deutch wants to offer you this movie again".

I'd already turned it down, and I was like, "I'd better take it". I just kept hearing this voice going, "Get back on the horse!" I was so devastated. So I said, "Yes", and, of course, that affected my life a lot, because I met my husband, who I'm still married to, and we have two incredible daughters. People love love love that movie. I think probably once or twice a day someone comes up to me... You know, if I'm not just sitting in my house. If I'm actually out among other people, someone comes up to me and tells me how much that movie affected them, how much they loved that movie, or that it's their favorite movie, which is really quite extraordinary, because the movie was not a hit. But it's had this incredible life. The opening of "Some Kind of Wonderful" is just so exquisite. The way my husband put together that whole montage that sets up the whole story, it's just so beautifully done. The music, the costumes, the story, they're all still really powerful, which is odd for a movie that's 25 years old. They don't make those movies anymore.

I'm amazed at how many people love it. I'm also amazed at how many men really like it. [2012] 'Howard the Duck' (1986)_! That's a really interesting movie. I appreciate my career, because I've had a lot of very interesting ups and downs, and most people... That movie is such a famous flop. In a land of a lot of flops, it's kind of awesome to be in a really famous flop. I mean, it's kind of a poster child for flops. A lot of iconoclasts really love that movie. They love to love something that everyone hates. And those are my kind of folks. I'm happy to be part of that club of people who don't want to be told what's horrible and just want to enjoy it anyway. "Howard the Duck" has a lot of fans, and usually when they come up to me, I just think they're the coolest. Because it takes a lot of strength, a lot of perseverance to love "Howard the Duck". That was a really long shoot - it took six months to shoot - and it was a really, really hard part to get. It was a gigantic movie.

George Lucas was producing, it had a very big budget, and everybody wanted that part. And everybody wanted the part of the duck! Everybody wanted to voice the duck. The people that they had coming were like, Robin Williams , Jay Leno ... all these people wanted to be the voice of the duck, and they were turned down. So it was a really big deal. And it was really fun for me, because, y'know, I got to be a rock star. Everybody wants to be a rock star, right? So, I got to sing and wear really crazy hair. It's unfortunate that it was such a bomb. But, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. [2012) Caroline in the City (1995)] was such an interesting thing, because I'd never been on the set of a sitcom or even auditioned for a sitcom when they gave me that part. And I'd just had my second daughter. In fact, she was actually breast-feeding during network notes, which in a lot of eras probably would've been a cause for firing. But anyway, it really was a terrifying experience.

I remember I went to see another show taping, because I was like, "I have to at least see what it's like before I have to do it", but after I did that, I said, "I can't do this! This is too scary!" The whole experience of doing a sitcom is... Telling jokes with such precision is really exciting, but it's also terrifying. It was a great job, though. I wish it would have gone on for a few more years. The character of Caroline... I kept saying to the writers, "She's got everything. She's young, she's got a great job, she's got this giant apartment in New York. How are you supposed to care about her?" So it made it interesting to try and make people want to be involved in her life. And to like her, because she kind of had everything except for a man, and I was like, "C'mon, guys, can't you come up with something else besides that?" But it still had a lot of fans, we got good ratings, and I'm really proud of it when I watch it now. I'm always amazed at how funny it was.

And I'm still really good friends with all of the actors, which is not all that usual. Usually, you don't really end up lifelong buddies with your co-stars. [2012, on Jaws 3-D (1983)] Well, that was my very first part, the very first movie I ever got, but I lied and said I had done a couple of other movies, so when I showed up, I really knew absolutely nothing. Also, I had said that I knew how to water-ski. And I did not. So I had, like, five days to learn really, really complicated water-skiing things, because I had to fit into the Sea World water-skiing show. I don't even know how to swim! So that was an interesting event. I wiped out a lot. But I pulled it off, I think, because I was a ballet dancer. The acting... was not so good. But I looked pretty good in my bikini, so I think that made up for it. {2012, on the "Back to the Future" trilogy] Well, I mean, seriously, how lucky am I? That part was such a gift, you know?

They just don't come along that great. I've had a few great parts, and that's definitely at the top of the list. For some reason, I just really got her. I got the depressed, beaten-down, drunken Lorraine, and I got the young, silly, oversexed, repressed Lorraine from 1955. Some parts just click in your head, and you just go for it. I remember the audition or screen test - whatever it was - at Amblin, where Steven Spielberg was working the camera. It was just so much fun, playing dress-up and inventing these characters, and then the idea that they let me play four or five more aspects of the same person in "Back to the Future II and III"... It really was such a gift. It's really interesting to me, and to Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale and all of us, how resonant the movie still is to people. I think the themes were even bigger than they thought when they made the movie.

The key theme that I think about is the idea that one moment could change your life forever, that one moment of standing up for yourself or having courage against a bully could change your life forever, like when George punches Biff and saves Lorraine. And the idea that, y'know, your parents were young once. They had the same dreams that you have as a teenager and the same passions and know how important that part of your life is. Those are really important themes that continue to resonate, and I think that's why parents keep wanting to show their kids these movies. And grandparents. I feel really, really lucky to be mostly known for that movie and that part. It was a great part. [2012] Red Dawn (1984) was really the most fun I ever had making a movie, because I love Westerns, and I love the idea of being a tomboy, and riding horses and shooting guns. I remember Jennifer Grey and I being, like, tormented but amazed by the politics of "Red Dawn", but the truth is that the story is a fascinating one. The idea was so interesting. The movie is like a really, really low budget of its day. You don't see anything.

They talk about how Chicago just fell to the Russians, but you don't see it. We only talk about it. I think it's kind of powerful on that level, that it's more like a play or a book, where the war that you actually do see feels more real as a result. I dunno, I just had a lot of fun being out on the tundra with John Milius and all the craziness that went along with that. And the guys were all so awesome, and we had such camaraderie. Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen , who was a madman even then. He was awesomely unpredictable even then, but he was adorable. I just had a really interesting time in the '80s. I tore it up in the '80s! [2012] Casual Sex? (1988) Well, that was based on a "Groundlings" sketch, and it was a really interesting movie because we basically shot the movie, then they tested it and pretty much reshot half of it. It was really weird. Andrew Dice Clay was designed to be the complete buffoon, then, for some reason, they made me marry him in the reshoots.

I've never seen anything like it. This happens a lot, though. Recently, I watched the trailer for it, and they have all these scenes from when he was a buffoon that they'd cut out of the movie but still put in the trailer. So that was bizarre. They actually shot me marrying three different guys in that movie. The whole thing was really weird. [2012] SpaceCamp (1986) was an interesting movie because, after the first day of filming, we were already 10 days behind schedule. And it kind of kept on that way. It was supposed to be a three-month shoot, and it ended up taking six. We had T-shirts printed up that said, "SpaceCamp: It's Not Just A Movie, It's A Career". Oh, actually, instead of SpaceCamp, it actually said SpaceCramp. That movie was really fun because of the camaraderie we had. It was Kelly Preston, Tate Donovan, Kate Capshaw, and Leaf Phoenix, who later became Joaquin Phoenix. He was only 10 and just a wonderful kid. We all spent so much time together on that weird mock-up of the space shuttle.

And then it was, like, the biggest disaster for a movie, because before the movie came out, between the time we wrapped it and the time it came out, the space shuttle blew up. Which was a horrible, horrible tragedy, so, of course, nobody wanted to see a film about a bunch of wacky kids accidentally blasting off in the space shuttle. It was just a horrible situation. Since then, though, I've had a lot of people come up to me and say that they became physicists or inventors, how much they loved that movie and how much it inspired them. That was really sweet and something I never really expected...It was a crazy movie. Very, very difficult and tortured film to make. But we had a great time, we laughed a lot, and we knew each other very well by the end of it. [2012, on Article 99 (1992)] Wow, that's a crazy movie. That movie was interesting because I was eight months pregnant when I did it.

My husband directed it, and there was another actress in that part, but the studio didn't like her, so they said, "You picked the wrong person, so get your wife to do it for very little money, 'cause she's already there on location in Kansas, anyway". So, yeah, I stepped in for some poor actress who was fired, and it was a really great cast. Luckily, I was wearing a lab coat, so I could hide my big baby bulge, but I remember I did a lot of frantic scenes with Forest Whitaker , and, y'know, he's a big guy, so I was always afraid I was going to get smashed by him. But I was really proud of that movie. I really loved it. It was ahead of its time in a lot of ways. Now we're going to be having more and more issues with all of the veterans coming home, how we're going to treat them, and the state of health care in this country. I liked what that movie said, and I was really proud of Howard for making it. And sad that it didn't do better... It had an amazing score. Danny Elfman did the score, I remember that.

And, you know, both my dad and my husband's dad were veterans, so it felt really powerful to do something for them, something about veterans. I was really proud of that. And, again, I was very pregnant. Poor Kiefer Sutherland had to kiss me. Or maybe just flirt with me. I don't remember if he actually kissed me, but either way, he's got to do this when I'm eight months pregnant... and in front of my husband, no less! See also 'Back to the Future': Director, Stars, Producers Reveal 10 Secrets You Didn't Know | Hollywood Reporter 7:44am PT by Ryan Gajewski 'Back to the Future': Director, Stars, Producers Reveal 10 Secrets You Didn't Know Courtesy Everett Collection As the Robert Zemeckis-directed film celebrates 30 years since its release, the movie's team takes a look back at its surprisingly rocky production. Where we're going, we don't need roads — or approval from any of the film studios.

In author Caseen Gaines' new tell-all book, We Don't Need Roads, the cast and crew behind the seminal sci-fi comedy Back to the Future, which hit theaters July 3, 1985, reveal all the secrets behind the film's bumpy path, including what it was like to hear initial rejections from every studio, replace the lead actor, endure friction among castmembers and get mixed reactions from test audiences. In honor of the film's 30th anniversary, here are some of the most revealing tidbits from the book. Every movie could use a monkey? After producer Bob Gale got the idea for the film from looking at his dad's old yearbook during a visit home, he and college pal Robert Zemeckis worked on the first draft of the script together in 1981. In the initial effort, Marty was a video pirate, while his friend Professor Brown — not yet named "Doc" — had a pet chimp named Shemp. None of the studios were interested, and it wasn't until the success of Zemeckis' 1984 film Romancing the Stone that the film moved forward.

Zemeckis and Gale turned to longtime acquaintance Steven Spielberg, the only person who had liked the project from the start, to produce, and so they took it to Universal, which housed Spielberg's Amblin offices. The leading man just wasn't working out. After filming for four weeks, director Zemeckis had to acknowledge that Eric Stoltz — who beat out fellow young actors like C. Thomas Howell, Johnny Depp, John Cusack and Charlie Sheen to play Marty McFly — just wasn't delivering the laughs that the script required. Gale says Universal head Sid Sheinberg reluctantly agreed to replace Stoltz with Michael J. Fox, who was now available, as producers on Family Ties were more willing to share him with the film than they had been earlier in the sitcom's season. Not many co-workers were sad to see Stoltz go. Numerous crewmembers were bothered by Stoltz, who saw himself as a Method actor and mandated that he be referred to as "Marty" at all times, even when cameras weren't rolling. Actor Tom Wilson (Biff) had developed a strong dislike for Stoltz, feeling he used too much force when pushing him during a cafeteria scene.

And Christopher Lloyd (Doc) calls Stoltz a "really good actor" but says he "was not bringing that element of comedy to the screen." Stoltz wasn't the only person who lost a big role during this transition. Melora Hardin, who would come to be known for playing Jan on NBC's The Office, had been cast as Marty's girlfriend Jennifer. But when Fox replaced Stoltz, the filmmakers decided that the 5-foot-5 Hardin would appear too tall opposite the 5-foot-4 Fox, and so the part was recast, going to Claudia Wells. Hardin admits she burst into tears when Gale called her with the news, with Gale referring to the phone call as "one of the hardest things I ever had to do." Not everyone was thrilled when Fox was hired. Lea Thompson (Lorraine) took more time than most to warm up to the idea of Fox carrying the film. "I was really snotty then," Thompson admits. "I was like, 'Oh, my God, a sitcom actor?' I was so snotty about it.

After I actually did a sitcom [Caroline in the City], I realized it was the hardest thing in the world." She adds that she was quickly won over by her new co-star. If only lightning could strike again. Industrial Light & Magic animator Wes Takahashi, who worked on the scene where the DeLorean traveled back to 1955, wasn't happy with how the effects turned out. "I never liked the animation that was finally approved of the gigantic lightning bolt that hit the clock tower," Takahashi says. He felt the lightning bolt looked too fat, explaining he wishes he would have had more time to submit other designs or perfect the one that was used. Hired for a song. Mark Campbell, who actually sang the vocals for the film's rendition of "Johnny B. Goode," was informed after recording the tune that he would not be receiving an onscreen credit, as Gale told him the filmmakers wanted to maintain the illusion that Fox was performing the song. "I told him I understood," Campbell says. "I got it." Two days after their first conversation, Gale told Campbell he would instead get a "very, very small, but very nice percentage of the soundtrack," according to Campbell.

The finished film didn't get a ringing endorsement at first. Editors were under the gun in order to make the scheduled release date, finishing a rough cut of the film just three weeks after cameras finished rolling. According to editor Arthur Schmidt, the first test audience was "very restless" at the start of the film. "They weren't with the movie during the first 10, 15, 20 minutes — maybe even the first half hour. I remember that some of the kids that were sitting in front of [editor] Harry [Keramidas] and me were poking each other and talking." Luckily, audiences were won over by the second half of the film. Would audiences have flocked to Spaceman From Pluto? According to film sources, Sheinberg felt strongly that the title Back to the Future was too confusing for audiences and pushed to change the name to Spaceman From Pluto, a reference to a comic book seen early in the film. Zemeckis and Gale were adamant that the name not be changed, and while Sheinberg now admits the "wisdom" in the title that was chosen, he denies suggesting Spaceman From Pluto as an alternative. Zemeckis wasn't thrilled about making a sequel.

The film was a gargantuan success, grossing $210.6 million domestically to become the highest-grossing film of 1985. After the success, Zemeckis was reluctant to make a sequel but felt he was "struck by Sophie's Choice" when the studio appeared to imply that the follow-up would get made with or without him. Email: Ryan.Gajewski@THR.com

Question: Which star of the Back To The Future movies appeared in Caroline In the City?
Answer: Lea Thompson