Thanks to the 35th anniversary 4K Ultra HD box set of the Back to the Future trilogy, we have a look at some auditions from a who’s who of young Hollywood for the original 1985 film, including Jon Cryer, Billy Zane, Peter Deluise and C. Thomas Howell. Thanks to Entertainment Tonight, we can take a look at Ben Stiller and Kyra Sedgwick’s auditions, who auditioned for Marty and Jennifer, respectively. Eric Stotz would famously go on to be cast in the role of Marty before getting replaced by Michael J. Fox, while Jennifer was portrayed by Claudia Wells in Part I, with Elizabeth Shue taking over for the sequels.
You can also watch Billy Zane audition for the role of Biff (below). While Tom Wilson would get the role, Zane cast as Match, one of Biff’s gang members. According to writer/producer Bob Gale, Johnny Depp and John Cusack, who also auditioned for Back to the Future, would not sign off on the release of their audition videos.
You can watch Ben Stiller and Kyra Sedgwick’s auditions here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbvyZWg5RLI