Great Scott – It’s been 40 years since “Back to the Future” blasted its way onto the big screen and became a beloved ‘80s classic.
The film, which premiered on July 3, 1985, starred Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Dr. “Doc” Emmett Brown. It tells the tale of a teen who befriends a maverick scientist and, thanks to his invention, accidentally goes back in time to 1955.
It was Claudia Wells’ first film as an actress. She played McFly’s love interest, Jennifer Parker.
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“Michael J. Fox was incredibly nice and easy-going [with me],” Wells recalled to Fox News Digital. “I loved feeling like I had a high school boyfriend whenever we were filming together. It was really wonderful.”
“He was funny, relaxed, very upbeat and, as everyone knows, such a genius with his acting,” she gushed. “I remember us sitting in the BMW in the driveway of the last scene we were in. During breaks, he would play rock music. Since I grew up listening to opera, symphonies and Simon & Garfunkel, it was really the first time that I got to feel like a teenager, listening to teenager music.”
“I was nervous because it was the first time I was in an actual movie, not just television,” Wells admitted. “But once the camera started rolling… it was a breeze for me and very second nature… [And] Jennifer Parker and I were very similar.”
The 59-year-old noted it was Lloyd who left her speechless on set.
“I was so surprised at how quiet Christopher Lloyd is,” she said. “But I love that about him because when he speaks, it’s because he really has something to say. It makes me and others really want to listen.”
Looking back, Wells described how she struggled to shake off the jitters.
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“I remember writing a long list of questions about the time sequence and why Jennifer was the same after all the things that changed from Marty being in 1955,” Wells recalled. “I had lots and lots of questions about the time continuum. I was asking [screenwriter] Bob Gale all of these questions over the phone, prior to filming.”
“Bob [finally] said, ‘Claudia, you think too much – just be Jennifer,’” said Wells. “Bob Zemeckis was an extraordinary director. He’s very specific about how he directs, and that’s one of the reasons I think that the movie turned out so amazingly.”
Wells continues to have fond memories of bringing the comedy to life.
“I loved making the film!” she said. “Bob Gale and I forged a great friendship from the beginning of me being cast to now. It’s astounding to me that it’s already 40 years since the film came out. My life is forever changed for the better, because I got to be Jennifer Parker… [And] what really makes me smile daily is how the movie has brought such a shared love to people throughout the world.”
The film’s success resulted in a trilogy, but Wells reluctantly turned down the offer to reprise her role. Elisabeth Shue went on to replace her in “Back to the Future II” (1989) and “Back to the Future III” (1990). At the time, Wells’ mother, who was also her manager, was dying from breast cancer.
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“I know she wanted me to continue doing the part and didn’t agree with my decision,” Wells previously told Fox News Digital. “But I was just not in a place emotionally where I could handle any more than what I was already handling. I wanted my mother to be supported and cared for. I left acting altogether, but I knew I would come back. I never felt it was over.”
Wells took a break from acting in 1986 and went on to open a menswear shop, Armani Wells, in Studio City, California.
Back in 2021, Wells shared her favorite theory about her character.
“I had a business lunch [with a friend],” she told Fox News Digital at the time. “We were talking about ‘Back to the Future’ and how Elisabeth Shue later became Jennifer. He said, ‘You want to know why I really think you were Jennifer in the first movie and Elisabeth in the sequels?’ I thought he was going to say it was because my mom was so sick at the time.”
“He said, ‘Forgive me, maybe I’m too into this film, but when Marty went to the past, Doc Brown kept warning him, ‘Be very careful about what you do, because you’re going to change the future. If you do anything by mistake, it will affect someone’s life,’” Wells shared.
“He said, “I think Marty must have done something that changed Jennifer Parker’s parents. One of the parents changed. So instead of your parents meeting, it was Elisabeth Shue’s parents who met, where one parent was different. And therefore, they gave birth to Elisabeth Shue’s version of Jennifer, not yours. And when he went into the present, everyone thought it was just normal because no one realized all the changes Marty made.”
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“I thought that theory was so cool,” said Wells. “Remember, Doc Brown kept warning Marty, ‘Don’t do any weird moves because you’re going to alter the future.’ And I think that’s why you see me in the first film, but not in the sequels. It’s wild.”
