Going back in time with Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd
A look at how Doc Brown got his start in New England.
Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown starring alongside Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in 1985’s Back to the Future.
Today, October 21, 2015, is the exact date that Marty McFly travels to in the sequel to the hit 1985 Robert Zemeckis film Back to Future.
In the movie series, McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) is able to drive into both the past and future with the help of Doc Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) and Brown’s famous DeLorean sports car. And while it’s Fox’s McFly that we follow most closely to different points in history, it is Lloyd’s role as the scientist and navigator that makes the whole adventure possible.
A look back on Christopher Lloyd’s history shows that he got his start right here in New England. He was raised in New Canaan, Connecticut as one of seven children. Lloyd doesn’t point to one “eureka’’ moment when he realized he wanted to become an actor, but credits his mother, who was deeply involved in the arts, for creating a spark.
Lloyd attended the Fessenden School in Newton, Massachusetts from third grade until eighth. It was there and during the summers in between that Lloyd began to explore theatre performance.
“I did a play there written by another student,’’ Lloyd said. “His name was Richard Hill, and he wrote this play called Submarine. The idea was that a submarine had crashed and sunk to the bottom, and there was this big feeling of terror and hysteria. I think I played one of the sailors.’’
Lloyd’s 6th form graduation photo from The Fessenden School Class of 1953. He is pictured in the fourth row, ninth from the left.
Lloyd spent one summer during his Fessenden years at the Falmouth Playhouse on Cape Cod. The playhouse’s stage manager knew that Lloyd had an affinity for lighting direction and invited him to join their 10-week program. Each week that summer, a new famous actor or actress would join the company’s cast for a different production. It was at the Falmouth Playhouse that Lloyd had the opportunity to work with such talent as Academy Award winner Geraldine Page and British actor Cedric Hardwicke.
Lloyd returned to Connecticut after his time at Fessenden, attending Staples High School in Westport. While he admitted that he didn’t perform as much while in high school, he recalled being a master of ceremonies for a variety show his senior year.
Lloyd’s senior yearbook photo from Staples High School.
After graduating, his first stop was New York City, where he hoped to pursue acting full time and started with classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Lloyd had dreamt of studying under the great Sandy Meisner, but upon Lloyd’s arrival in New York, he learned that the esteemed instructor had left for a short period. He ended up returning and taking the same class over again, just so he could learn directly from Meisner.
“I went back and studied with him, and it was great,’’ Lloyd said. “It opened a whole world for me. I’ve carried that with me for my whole life, it was really important. The time and preparation before a play is something I really value, and it’s something I learned in New York.’’
Lloyd was well on his way to pursuing his acting ambitions, but his New England days weren’t over just yet. Two years after graduating Staples, he enrolled at Yale and performed in the Yale Repertory Theatre. It was there that he began working with a young aspiring actress named Meryl Streep.
The two first collaborated on a production called The Possessed by Polish director Andrzej Wajda. At the end of the season, he played Oberon in a Yale production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which Streep performed the role of Helena. The two even ended up working together shortly after graduating from Yale.
“She hadn’t emerged just yet,’’ said Lloyd. “In 1973, I had the lead in a Broadway musical by Bertolt Brecht called Happy End. We rehearsed it at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and we opened there. We hoped to bring it to Broadway, which we did, but along the way, the director was replaced, the leading lady was replaced, and Meryl was cast. We worked together there for about two months on Broadway, and we had a great time.’’
Not long after, and about 200 productions, workshops, and repertory roles since his first days as a performer, Lloyd caught the attention of an agent in Los Angeles. He said goodbye to New England, appeared in films like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, TV shows like Taxi, and later, filled his iconic role as Doc Brown in the Back to the Future series.
Lloyd’s illustrious career has given him the chance to try just about everything — a journey that he sees tremendous value in. As he approached the date that his famous character referred to as the future, he looked back with nothing but contentment on his own adventure as an actor. After all, it was he who told Marty McFly, “No one should know too much about their own destiny.’’
If given the opportunity to hop in the DeLorean and travel back in time, he said he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I was a slow starter,’’ Lloyd said. “I didn’t really make any dazzling impressions. But I don’t really regret that because I learned a lot along the way. I always kept busy — I found my way my way, and I’m happy about it.’’
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