Michael J. Fox Reveals How Michael Landon Convinced Him to Take “Teen Wolf” Lead

In 1985, Michael J. Fox starred in the seminal science fiction classic Back to the Future. That same year, he also starred in a fantasy movie that resonated through the decades: Teen Wolf.

Fox, 64, opened up about his decision to do Teen Wolf in his new memoir Future Boy, which chronicles how he filmed his hit series Family Ties and Back to the Future at the same time. Fox began starring on Family Ties in 1982, playing “Young Republican” Alex P. Keaton. 

The show aired on NBC for seven seasons from 1982 to 1989. Near the end of season 2, Meredith Baxter, who played mom Elyse Keaton, revealed that she was pregnant and expecting twins. “Our writers decided to work the pregnancy into the Keaton family storyline; thus, Season 3 began production in July with an episode about Elyse and Steven expecting a new baby,” Fox wrote in his book.

But things didn’t go according to plan. “Within a few months, Meredith’s doctor suddenly prescribed mandatory bed rest, which forced Family Ties into an unscheduled shutdown,” Fox said. “My agent, Bob Gersh, seized the moment and sent me the script for a quick, low-budget movie called Teen Wolf.”

The coming-of-age comedy, directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman, was ready to start filming and would take just five weeks to shoot, which would fit in the production hiatus the show was taking. “This would be my first leading role in a movie, albeit a hackneyed one that required me to wear twenty-five pounds of yak hair. Still, I signed on,” he said.  

“Looking back, I’m not sure why I accepted that role,” Fox admitted. “Maybe because the wolf thing had worked for Michael Landon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf? Or did I take it impulsively because I thought I wouldn’t have another shot at the lead in a movie?” 

Fox wished he’d known that at the same time, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, and Steven Spielberg were casting Back to the Future, which they’d wanted Fox to star in. Gary David Goldberg, creator and executive producer of Family Ties, had told them no without asking Fox and his agent.

Teen Wolf, released in August 1985, was poorly received by critics, but was a financial success, making over $30 million on its $4 million budget. 

Landon’s I Was a Teenage Werewolf was also a box office success. The 1957 movie saw Landon — who would later become famous for Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie — play troubled teen Tony Rivers. He’s given a serum by a hypnotherapist that turns him into a werewolf. I Was a Teenage Werewolf, however, was a horror film with a tragic ending, while Teen Wolf was a comedy that saw Fox’s Scott use his wolf powers to play basketball. 

A 1987 sequel, Teen Wolf Too, starred Jason Bateman instead of Fox. Fox told PEOPLE at the time that he did not regret saying no to the sequel. “’If [Bateman] wants to sit through hours and hours of makeup and have it slapped on and scraped off, good luck. I don’t,” he said.

The film was also adapted into a 1986 animated series, and then the hit 2011 live-action series Teen Wolf, which aired on MTV. 

Family Ties went back into production in December 1984, and at the beginning of 1985, Fox replaced Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future — while still filming Family Ties. Back to the Future was a massive success, spawning two sequels, while Family Ties ended in 1989. 

Future Boy is available now, wherever books are sold.