Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor and director.
He is best known for playing Rocky Dennis in Mask and Lance in Pulp Fiction. He was also famously cast as Marty McFly in Back to the Future before being replaced by Michael J. Fox. Stoltz worked on the film for a month and was then fired because his performance was not comedic enough for director Robert Zemeckis.
Stoltz can still be seen in the film driving the DeLorean in some wide shots and according to Thomas F. Wilson the closeup shot of Biff being punched by Marty in the diner is almost certainly Stoltz as well, or his fist at least. Additionally, several seconds of the original footage were released as part of a DVD extra
(though his full performance remains locked in a vault and may never see the light of day).
As a director, he has worked on episodes of Law & Order, Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy, Glee and Madam Secretary.
Selected Filmography:
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982): Stoner Bud.
- St. Elsewhere (1983): Eddie Carson.
- Mask (1985): Rocky Dennis.
- Some Kind of Wonderful (1987): Keith Nelson.
- The Fly II (1989): Martin Brundle.
- Say Anything... (1989): Vahlere.
- Memphis Belle (1990): Staff Sgt. Danny Daly.
- Naked in New York (1993): Jake Briggs.
- Killing Zoe (1994): Zed.
- Pulp Fiction (1994): Lance.
- Little Women (1994) (1994): John Brooke.
- The Prophecy (1995): Simon.
- Rob Roy (1995): Alan McDonald.
- Jerry Maguire (1996): Ethan Valhere.
- 2 Days in the Valley (1996): Wes Taylor.
- Anaconda (1997): Dr. Steven Cale.
- Homicide: Life on the Street (1997): Drew Kellerman
- A Murder of Crows (1998): Thurman Parks III.
- Chicago Hope (1998-1999): Dr. Robert Yeats.
- The House of Mirth (2000): Lawrence Selden.
- The Butterfly Effect (2004): Mr. Miller.
- Caprica (2009-2010): Daniel Graystone.
Tropes:
- Filmed Stage Production: Stoltz starred as George in a 1998 stage production of Our Town, which was filmed and ran on PBS's Great Performances. (Penelope Ann Miller played Emily.)
- Method Acting: While working on Back to the Future, Stoltz insisted on being called "Marty" at all times. In the scene where Marty confronts Biff in the cafeteria, Stoltz' refusal to break character resulted in him leaving bruises on Thomas F. Wilson. Wilson planned to return the favor in the scene where Biff pulls Marty out of the car but Stoltz was fired before that could happen.
- The Other Marty: The Trope Namer, more or less, after he was fired from Back to the Future and replaced with Michael J. Fox. Here is a production still of Stoltz with Christopher Lloyd in the Twin Pines Mall parking lot.
