First published 2025
Michael J. Fox opens his memoir in early 1985, when he was already a television star playing Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties. Then came an opportunity that would change everything: the chance to star in Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg's time travel film Back to the Future as Marty McFly. Fox committed to an exhausting schedule that split his days between two dream projects. He rehearsed and taped the sitcom during daylight hours, then drove from Paramount's soundstage to Universal's back lot each evening to film the movie. This grueling routine continued for months, with Fox catching sleep wherever he could find it. The actor had to channel Alex Keaton's confident swagger by day and Marty McFly's earnest charm by night, switching between characters while his own comedic skills bound them together. Fox draws on fresh interviews with cast and crew from both productions to reveal how he managed this unprecedented double duty. The book captures a unique moment in entertainment history when one performer brought two beloved characters to life simultaneously.
Genres: drama, 20th-century, autobiography, memoir, biography-memoir, comedy, 21st-century, film
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate
Tropes: double-duty, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Paramount, Universal
Period: 1985
162 pages · Hardcover · Flatiron Books