The cast of Back to the future They haven’t made a film together in years, but they’re still something of a family. They appear at conventions together, swap stories, and generally all seem to look back on their time making the trilogy (now streaming on Peacock) with genuine fondness. But according to Lea Thompson, it didn’t necessarily start out that way, at least when it came to her relationship with Michael J. Fox.

In a recent interview with the Still here Hollywood On the podcast, Thompson, who played Lorraine Baines McFly on the series, explained that she and Fox got off to a rocky start when it came time to share the set of the first installment Back to the future Film. But if you know the story of the film, you know that there is a very clear reason for this.

Why Lea Thompson didn’t initially warm up to Michael J. Fox while filming Back to the future

Although Fox is now known around the world for his work as Marty McFly Back to the future trilogy, work that made him a movie star, it is important to remember that he was not originally chosen for the role. Production began with Thompson already in her role as Lorraine and Eric Stoltz in the lead role. When things weren’t really working out, director Robert Zemeckis made the difficult decision to recast Marty McFly, which gave Thompson and the rest of the cast a bit of whiplash.

“I was friends with Eric Stoltz, who had just been fired,” Thompson explained. “I had already made a film with the title The animal world with him and so he was a friend of mine.”

Thompson and Stoltz made other films together, including John Hughes’ Somehow wonderful Just a few years later, but back then, losing her friend on set really hurt. Then there was another, slightly more obscure reason for her dislike of Fox. At the time, he was best known for his role as Alex P. Keaton on the sitcom Family tieswhile Thompson was known for her films. They came from different worlds, and at the time there was a “big divide” between the film and television worlds.

“It’s not that much (anymore), that’s for sure. It’s not the same as it was back then,” Thompson said. “So I remember thinking, ‘He’s just a TV star and I’m a movie star.’ I was there Jaws 3D‘.”

But while Thompson initially had reservations about Fox, the two eventually bonded through working together, and that helped spark a friendship.

“He was so funny and so much fun to play with,” Thompson said. “I had already shot some scenes with Eric and then had to reshoot them with Michael so I could see that they were completely different scenes.”

Of course, Thompson and Fox would star in two more films Back to the future films and have remained friends ever since.

The Back to the Future trilogy is now streaming on Peacock.