- William Zabka, The Karate Kid, 1983. “He scared the shit out of me,” said Ralph Macchio after testing Zabka. Director Avildsen asked the mighty wrestler to play a scene in a headband. He grabbed Avildsen: “Watch yamouth asshole!” And left the room, came back, tore the headband off and said: “I’m sorry. That was Johnny, that wasn’t Billy.” Avildsen nodded and said: “You’re a little bigger than our karate kid.” Zabka knew his movies. ” Bruce Lee was smaller than Kareem Abdul Jabbar [in Game of Death],” “True,” nodded Avildsen again. And so it was Zabka, not Jim Carrey nor Crispin Glover who kept the character’s red jacket. And Glover joined Fox in Back To The Future. But not in…
- Jeffrey Weissman, Back To The Future II & III, 1989/1990. Although not the easiest of actors (at one point, the crew had to build a kind of cage around him to stop him forever moving from his mark), Glover said the reason he was dumped from the sequels (as Marty’s Pop,. George McFly) was because Universal did not appreciate his public disapproval of the first chapter’s ending, where Marty McFly’s family ends up rich and successful – the wrong message, Glover believed. Officially, he was ousted for wanting the same $1m pay as Michael J Fox. Glover got that, anyway, by suing Universal for the “unauthorised appropriation of his voice and likeness“ (via special make-up, prosthetics and old footage), to make it appear that he was still playing Marty’s dad, George McFly, and not Weissman. The case led to the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) making new rules about using actors’ images. A win-win!
- Anthony Geary , UHF, 1989. “Weird Al” Yankovic, who could parody pop songs but not act, offered Glover the role of Philo….
- John Cadenhead, UHF, 1989. … but Glover preferred the weirdo car salesman, Crazy Ernie. And lost both.
- Anthony Michael Hall, Edward Scissorhands, 1990. Crispin looks more like the film’s creator, director Tim Burton, than “the image of American dream – the guy you knew in high school, who always had girlfriends.”
- Anthony Rapp, Road Trip, 2000. Glover was chosen to play (but didn’t) the teacher’s assistant with a thing about Amy Smart’s heroine.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 6