Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum - TOM WILSON: Back to the Future Legacy, Stand Up Survival & Finding Self Respect Beyond Applause

Episode Date: January 20, 2026

Tom Wilson (Back to the Future, SpongeBob SquarePants) joins us for a deeply reflective, funny, and unexpectedly moving conversation about legacy, identity, and the long shadow of iconic roles. Tom opens up about the weight of Back to the Future, how fame can both elevate and trap an artist, and why learning to respect his own craft mattered more than applause. He shares vivid stories from the early stand up comedy scene alongside Seinfeld, Leno, and Reiser, his experiences working with Crispin Glover and Michael J Fox, and the personal philosophy that helped him build a grounded life beyond Hollywood expectations. Thank you to our sponsors: x __________________________________________________ 💖 Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/insideofyou⁠⁠ 👕 Inside Of You Merch: ⁠⁠https://store.insideofyoupodcast.com/⁠⁠ __________________________________________________ Watch or listen to more episodes! 📺 ⁠⁠https://www.insideofyoupodcast.com/show⁠⁠ __________________________________________________ Follow us online! 📸 Instagram: ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/insideofyoupodcast/⁠⁠ 🤣 TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@insideofyou_podcast⁠⁠ 📘 Facebook: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/insideofyoupodcast/⁠⁠ 🐦 Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/insideofyoupod⁠⁠ 🌐 Website: ⁠⁠https://www.insideofyoupodcast.com/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I would say our relationship is complicated, you know, because for a while there, it's the greatest thing that ever happened to me as an actor. For a long period of time, it is the worst possible thing that could have happened to me as an actor. And I had to stop because I almost started to cry because it was like looking at myself in the sixth grade. But it was very upsetting to me. It was, it was. Wow. Because it was hard to act like that with people. Yeah.

And believe it. What it forced me to do was look at myself in a completely different way as an artist. Say, I have to go deep inside of myself and find if I'm valuable as an artist to me. I'm glad that I'm here. Right. But you normally don't do this anymore. I don't do. No, no, no, no.

Did you have any idea how big back to the future would be? And what was day one like with Michael J. Fox? You lived with Andrew Dice Clay. I mean, do you remember working with him? Did you ever get in fights or anything? You're listening to Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. Ryan Tejas is here. This is our 400th episode.

Four hundredth episode. Crazy. Thanks for joining every week. Or maybe this is the first week that you're joining. Regardless, a few things. If you like this podcast and you're here for the guest, If you like to give it a chance, please write a review and subscribe. And it really means a lot.

Also, coming up with the guest today, Tom Wilson, who I love, we got questions from you guys. Patrons. If you want to join patron and ask questions to guests, patron, p-a-t-R-E-O-N.com slash inside of you. And we will ask Tom some of these questions that you've put down. So join Patreon and support the podcast. Also, the Inside of You online store is available for tons of Smallville merch. Inside of you merch. Go to my Instagram at the Michael Rosenbaum for the link tree, cameos, all that stuff there.

And Sunspin, my band, sunspin.com. You can get vinals and a whole bunch of stuff and listen to the music. Sunspin. We get a new album coming out. Or it's out. It's out. So that is it. We got a lot of great stuff for you this episode.

a lot of inside stuff from Tom Wilson. Yeah. He was really good. And he doesn't do any podcasts. And he did mine. I finally got Tom on and the stories he has to tell. And he doesn't hold back. And I really appreciate that.

So Tom, thanks for being here. And again, thank you for listening today, folks. And please write a review and subscribe. And at, what is it? Inside of You, Pop. podcast on Instagram and Facebook at Inside You Pod on the Twitter. And we got great guests coming up. And a lot of great guests passed.

So William H. Macy, Jared Harris, Allison Mack interview. So catch up and support the podcast. Without you, we couldn't do it. And thank you for listening. And why don't we just get inside of Tom Wilson? It's my point of you. You're listening to Inside of You. with Michael Rosenbaum.

Inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum was not recorded in front of a live studio audience. You know, first of all, I'm excited to hell that you're here. I know, and your text was like, ah, come on, no one, you know. I was like, no, I was really looking forward to this. I've been trying, how many years have I been asking you to do this podcast?

A very long time. Yes. I congratulate you because you asked years before I stopped doing them. So you got in right under the wine. after the lockdown, many things happened. And I was really kind of like, I think I'm basically done with talking into microphones because I've done it my whole life.

Yeah. And it's been fine. It's been great. But I think I'm going to have a season, like around the clubhouse turn into the finish line, where I'm not overly examining things. And when I'm looking forward and not in the rear view mirror, because since, you know, since early success, people's approach to me is very rearview mirror heavy.

So it had to be, for me, saying, I just, I'm taking off the rearview mirror and I'm just going in this direction. Right. Toward the new thing. So I'm not saying it's a bad thing that I'm here. I'm glad that I'm here. Right. But you normally don't do this anymore. I don't do.

No, no, no, no. I don't. But you'll still talk about the past with me. Of course. I'm here to be honest about it. But the honesty scares me because, as I've told you, I'm a little older now and I'm still kind of funny, but I'm not using it as the flashpot. You know, at a kiss concert, when anyone asks me something uncomfortable, man, a fast for joke. And then I just start talking about something else. I'm not as good at that as I used to be. I don't know. I wish I was one of the guys that was funny for a period, but then it was. When Hollywood begins eating you, I think it's hard to be funny when you have to now, this next movie that's coming up is going through the 20 guys and the studio people and all that stuff. Man, it's a miracle. Yeah.

To actually end up with something that's still funny in the way that you think you're funny. Yes, but I will say this. Like if someone said, hey, you could be in arguably one of the best. films ever made and that's the biggest thing you'll ever do i would i have no idea what you're talking what i'm saying is that if that was all you did if if smallville was all i did isn't that enough isn't it enough like i mean you do so many other things i mean you've acted in other things you've you do voiceover work sponge bob you uh you do stand up you've done stand up for your whole life. You went to drama school. You've done a lot of things. You have a family. So it is enough,

Michael. It is enough to have done something like that. But you got to keep living, you know, and people are going to bring it up. And we overthink it and we work on it. But the strength of, the strength for me of being in something like Back to the Future, the Three Back to the Future, the three Back to the Future movies, was that after a while, I knew, oh, this is going to be a problem. This isn't only fantastic. Right.

It's going to be an issue because it's literally too big. It's literally the size of Back to the Future. I used to say, like, it comes out. And it comes out and everyone goes, this is one of the classics of all time. Wow, fantastic. He's like, it's unbelievable. Wow, everyone's going to see that movie.

It's huge. Right. It's gigantic. It's, run, run! And then it just starts stomping on everything, you know, breaking your train set. And, you know, it's just a giant thing. What it forced me to do was look at myself in a completely different way as an artist. Say, I have to go deep inside of myself.

and find if I'm valuable as an artist to me. To you. To me. Yeah. And I never really cared what anyone thought much, even before, even when I was a kid. You just did it your own way. I had a certain panache, and I did stuff my own way. And I was okay with that.

But really, it kind of surprised me that all of those people that say all of those things, wow. I mean, literally, everyone in this town saying, man, Funny, you're never going to get out from under that. Wow. I know. This thing will never end. It's daunting. Wow.

You're screwed. And you're just like all these jokes. Wow. And you start to believe it? You start to believe it a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. But I had to get to the place where I had a great deal of respect for my own

artistry, my own professionalism, my own work ethic. And really. just decide from this point forward, I'm just going to do my craft. I'm going to do the best that I can do. But I'm okay to me in what I'm doing. If I'm doing a stand-up show that I found this night was particularly a great audience, particularly improvisational, particularly creative, it forced me into getting in trouble on stage and finding my way. Taking risks. Taking risks on stage improvisationally and stand-up.

That night in 1994 in Chicago was worth everything. Why is that? Because that's what it's all about. That's why I got into it. Not for anyone to like what I do. I got into it for the moment on stage when I was in high school. The feeling. And the feeling of we both know we're in a play.

We both know that this is phone. And the director's right over there looking at us. But for right now, it kind of feels real. Yeah. And that pretend thing is just, it's just, it is magical. And that's what got me into it. Not the people afterwards saying, boy, you were really good. Right.

That, you know, that's a part of it. it. And by the time people were saying, wow, you're pretty, you're good at that. Wow, that was great. I wasn't very good at anything. I wasn't an athlete. I wasn't, you know, making a mark in anything. Really? I thought it was a kind of a smart guy. I was a musician. I liked music and that sort of, but I didn't feel any particular talent in anything. And then I was in a play. And everyone, it was odd the kind of how people were you know kind of electrified by it like

that was really good you well we share something because that's what happened to me this happened earlier it was high school my senior year and I've told this story but I did a play and I was a smallest kid in my high school and nobody knew me and no one cared really and I just was you know whatever

and I remember a popular kid just walking by me and going hey you're really good in that play you were funny and walked away. And I was like, not being me is cool. You know, and so, but, but that moment of like, I'm good at something. That's it. That's exactly it, which was kind of a surprise. Yeah.

Which I'm good at something. Am I good at this, you know? And then you start, and then you start working on it more and then, you know, go to acting school. Yeah, but did your parents, were they supportive always? Yes. Yes, they were. my mom was afraid of that world coming from Philadelphia.

You don't know anything about it. So, of course, you hear about how difficult it is. There's no chance of success. And if you go to that Hollywood anyway, all those people are crazy and on drugs or whatever, whatever it is. All of those fears, because she's a mom. Right. My dad was very much supporting me, but saying, if you're going to do. do this, then take it seriously, study it, learn about it so you can be good at it and treat it as a

trade. Like, learn how to do it, do it right. Yeah. And don't just spin the jackpot wheel thinking you're going to just make something of yourself and get lucky. But you never thought that really, I mean, because you were, again, president of debate team, not again, but playing the tuba, drum major high school. Well, sort of a nerd. You want to be a nerd. You want to be a lot. You want to It's right. Nerd stuff. And you studied politics at Arizona? Well, that was very short. That was back when I was doing that like, I'm clearly talented in acting in this stuff and I'm in all the plays and I play the music and everything, but you can't do that. I have to go and be a normal person, which is what you do in Pennsylvania, I think back then. Right. So, yes. So college and studies and, but very early on, even in the classroom, just going, Yeah, this is going to happen. I'm not, no, I got to do plan B. And what's plan B?

Plan B was telling my parents, I'm moving to New York and going to study acting, which was At the American Academy. Right. So you're just basically saying, I'm going to be a Martian. I'm getting on a spaceship and I'm going to another land. What did my dad say, Ryan, when I said I want to be an actor? Eat your steak. That's all I said.

Eat your steak. But they, but he must have watched you and seen a talent there. He would never tell me if he did. I didn't get that. I didn't get like, hey, you were really great. I never, never, never. Right now, Mike, let me do that. Please, please, please.

No. You're a very talented man. Thank you. You've done wonderful things in your career and you're good. May I call you dad? sure you can thanks dad that means a lot to me no it does mean a lot you're welcome buddy um but i found that in other places i found uh you know you're great your applause this and it's not a great to if you don't have substance like you know it's not sustainable very dangerous it's very dangerous

it's been very dangerous and it took me a long time to realize that you know that's not what it's about i mean it feels good but you know you need to You need love. You need unconditional. I've told many young artists, please believe me when I say this. Self-respect is better than applause. Yeah.

So go deep within yourself. Find the talent there. Work hard on it. And that's worthwhile and it's beautiful. But if you get addicted to the people saying, man, you're good. It's very big trouble. Very big trouble.

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Get ready for the rush with Max Crosby. It's time. Don't miss the behind the scenes moments everyone's talking about. Regardless of what they say, I'll take the fine. I don't care. All pro defensive end, Max Crosby takes you beyond the field with exclusive insights. I could say this because I've played them. This is The Rush. You guys already know what time it is. It was fire. And we'll be right back on the pod. We'll be talking about it next week. The Rush with Max Crosby. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. When were you doing stand-up? That was... I was studying acting in New York. And I was, you know, to me, of course, like every 19-year-old in New York City, I was God's gift to acting. And I was studying. I was going on auditions and getting nothing, basically, because you're 19.

And you're doing a monologue from all my sons, you know, an Arthur Miller play. I think you can see all my three sons. Well, my three sons would probably work better. Yeah. But, you know, you're doing that intense, dramatic stuff and expecting everyone. Just, wow, that was fantastic. And a couple of friends of mine did stand up. I totally looked down on them.

I mean, I enjoyed Saturday Night Live. I was a big Steve Martin fan. I enjoyed all that stuff, but I never saw myself in that way, never saw myself doing stand-up. And they did, and I was sort of like, well, I'll come to your little club and watch your stick. And I went, and they wrote things for themselves and put it on and got paid, like maybe $20 or maybe a cheeseburger from the kitchen at this club. And that already, I was sort of in, because I was sort of in. I had no money. My parents didn't have any money.

My dad was sick. All kinds of stuff was happening. I didn't have anything. So 20 bucks at a cheeseburger actually turned my head. So that's why you did it. That's really why I did it. And creatively. It was like, wow, you guys just, you kind of make it up and you just put it up there.

Looks like fun. It's sort of fun. So I began doing that, improv groups, that kind of thing and stand up. And I was doing it as a lark. And within a couple days, this guy I knew called me and said, listen, we need you to get ready. We're going to New Jersey for a gig. I said, I'm not even a, I'm not a comedian. I just, but no, we don't have a guy.

He fell out. He got sick. We need three guys. You just will, the car will drive up, get in the car, do a show. Just put on a show. You have to open the show and then just introduce us. That's what you have to do. So I just had to, you know, in the car, I'm thinking up stuff to do.

on stage. Just nervous. And that was my first, you know, professional gig that I made like, you know, 10 bucks or something. How to go. That's the problem. It went okay, you know. I got like a couple of, it didn't go horribly.

Right. I was okay with it. I'm okay on my feet just speaking. I'm not particularly afraid. That debate team shit came in here. Right. And I'm kind of confident on stage, not because I'm confident in my skills, but I was always confident, like,

anyone could do this better get up here and give it a shot i mean whatever come on up i don't i'm just doing it right now yeah so um and that started stand-up and then i you know and i just started working at the clubs in new york and new jersey and philadelphia gigs all kind of what year is this this is nineteen 79 79 yeah and do you remember any of the big comics around you at that time everybody was around everybody like who are the comics that were going up before you or um uh paul riser jerry seinfeld uh bill marr larry miller um you know every every all kinds of people and you mingled with these guys oh yeah oh yeah they were we were i mean i was younger than them i was sort of a like they were they were juniors i was a freshman right right but uh but yeah

everybody everybody j leno everybody was working who did What did you think when you saw their stand-up going, that's who I think is going to make it? Wow. So many of them were good for different reasons because they were uniquely themselves. From the very beginning, Jay Leno was a great comedian. And I really think he still is. He would just kill. He would just kill.

The audience liked him. He had a little more of that thing with it. So Jay was really funny. I always watch Larry Miller. Do you know Larry? Yeah. He was on a show that I did a guest star. Yeah, Larry was always so relaxed on stage.

It always impressed me because I was such a kind of an actor preparing this little skit that I had. He was just like nothing. Yeah, he was just come on stage and like, how's everybody and begin in such a relaxed way. But all those guys were really good. Yeah. We're really good. And when you came into those places, everybody, it's like you're putting it. on, you know, you put on your Dodger uniform and going to Dodger Stadium as a rookie.

Right. It's like, wow, this is, this is a different thing. I mean, nightclubs in New York. Yeah. Or coming to L.A. I came, I drove to L.A., went into the main room of the comedy store. Like, 400 people packed. I've done that.

Packed. And the guys on stage, it was Denny Johnston. Denny, Denny got sort of famous on Make Me Laugh. He was a comedian on The Tonight Show a lot and everything. Right. And Denny was on stage and he was just destroying. And you get hit with this just wave of the heat of the room. Yeah.

And the attention to him and just people just dying, laughing. And it was wonderful and intimidating. Sure. And like, you are in the big, big house now. So you better be good. And were you nervous as shit? I was pretty, I was pretty nervous. But you held your own?

I held my own. I was, it was rare. I auditioned for Mitzie Shore, who owned the place, the Comedy Store. And I got accepted as a regular, like my first audition. That's pretty rare. Wow. And then the main room was like the best of the comedy store show. That was the big show.

Yeah. And me and Blake Clark were doing the door. We were taking tickets. Do you know? Have you ever met Blake? No. It was in the Waterboy. Is that guy goes, right there.

He's a southern. Anyway, Blake's been a lot. of movies and stuff now. Blake and I were doing the door because if somebody didn't show up, you could hop on stage. They would look around for a comic, somebody doesn't show up, and those comics over there, but if they weren't there, you'd have a chance. You were standing right there. Yeah, right, right. So they go, good up. Bob Saget didn't show up for his set in the big show, in the main room of the comedy store. So Bob, Bob wasn't there. Nobody up, you know, Tom, get up, get up there, do a set. And I did a set in that show and I really did well. And that sort of

was it. That was like year in. Wow. And then I started really getting a lot of spots there and work in the improv as well, but mostly, mostly the comedy store. You lived with Andrew Dice Clay. I did when I first moved here, the comedy store. Mitsy Shore owned a house in the back behind the comedy store. It had been owned by the nightclub Ceros. Ceros was the big nightclub in the 40s. It was the big nightclub in the 40s. It's in movies. Yeah. You know, with the guys with chat, chat, chat, chat, chad, jac, jac, jac, when you know, Carol Lombard is walking through it in an evening gown.

So they still owned the house as the comedy store. So I moved in there. I lived with Andrew Clay before he was Dice. And Yaakov Smyrnoff, the Russian comedian, who now lives in Branson, Missouri, making it. Did you think they were funny? I thought they were both funny. Andrew didn't have the Dice character then. He was looking for something.

And I thought he had talent on stage. He certainly had stage, he had charisma on stage. But he was really looking and it wasn't working. Right. It wasn't working for him on stage until he just started doing that character. Doing that character. Yeah. Did you know him well when he was starting to do that character again?

I come home one night after the club. It's 2.30 in the morning. And he's sitting at the dining room table with a three ring binder. And he's writing. I used to make, he's. He's writing like a kind of like a third grader. I mean, he's printing out this stuff. He goes, Tommy. Yeah, Andrew, what's up? It was dice. Yeah, what do you mean? Dice. Character. That's what I'm going to do. So, giving him great credit, Andrew has built an empire on just this idea. Instead of just kind of doing, he did an Al Pacino impression. He did all kind. He did, he did, he sat. He sat. He sat. He sat. He sat. on stage. Instead of that, he would

concentrate it on a character. That would be, of course, incredibly dirty and tough and leather jacket and all, oh, all that stuff. And so I didn't, you know, see the great potential in dice. That's fine. Go for it. But, boom, he went on to the stage there, went off on tour. I actually help because I was doing little road gigs and he was just in L.A. And I called some guys on the,

hey, would you book this guy? He's trying something and everything. So he goes out on the road, blah, blooms. Dice. Blows up. Blows up. And is a superstar. Yeah. Do you have, when's last time he talked to him? Andrew, it's been a number of years. I think before the lockdown, we had, we had lunch with some, you know, guys show up to all the old comics, you know, Did he talk about the old times living with you? Oh, yeah, he did. He and Yaakov, look, it was crazy. It was a crazy time.

Did you do drugs or anything? No. Never. No. In fact, none of us did. Really? None of us did. We threw out some, we threw out a guy that was sort of living a very unhealthy lifestyle,

you know, in the way that Hollywood can be living a profoundly unhealthy lifestyle. Right. And we, um, powdering his nose every night. Yeah. So we said, nah, it's not. We're just into. doing the shows and stuff. We just kind of were here.

So out. Do you remember your biggest bomb? Have you ever bombed really bombed? Everyone remembers. I bombed hugely. I'm back opening for rock bands in late 70s, early 80s. You know, people throwing shoes at me.

My guitar, I still have the guitar that I used in those days and it has all these dings on it because people would throw nickels. Because nickels, you can't really see it until there's this shiny thing. flying through and just bam on the on the top of the guitar did you ever get pissed oh yeah oh yeah on stage oh yeah oh yeah at the comedy store i would i would several times i would um just say let me i'll be right back folk and i would put the microphone in walk into the crowd throw them out you would

and then come back on you pick them up not pick them up but convinced you didn't take shit you didn't take shit. No, I was young, you know, as I'm quick to point out to my son and my sons and all, everyone, I'm talking about a 22-year-old guy from Philadelphia, right, who lived in New York, who came out here. I'm talking about that guy. This guy is a different guy, you know? Yeah. That window of being a kid just like, you want to, you know. Has closed. Right. Right. That window closed a long time ago. But yes, You're 22 and you're trying to do something on stage and you're desperate to get attention to move on to whatever the next level is for you. And someone's messing it up, man.

I was the doorman. I was the door. Back then, back then in olden times, pre-cable TV, Richard Pryor would work at the comedy store every night to work up material to actually do a stand-up movie. you know, he would go out and do this hour and a half of material, and they would film it, and they'd release it as a movie. And then after a while, it would end up being a cable special. So I was the doorman, and I'd have to walk up to a table of six large African-American gentleman and say, you guys are going to have to settle down. Mr. Pryor's working on stage. And that would get me into all sorts of trouble.

All sorts of trouble. They're like, who the hell are you? Yeah, yeah. Did you ever get in fights or anything? Almost, almost. And then Mr. Pryor had two bodyguards, James and Roshang. And they were not meant to be trifled with at all. Really?

They were really the real deal. They liked you, though? They liked me. Fortunately, I made them laugh. Richard was all he was he was great to me he was great to me any stories you remember of just you and him I was this is humble bragging right or whatever they call it now whatever but I was like very young when I was there and I did a long bit about being in the marching band and we'd go to a marching band competition in Philadelphia and then coming into the stadium would be from a inner city high school

like a black school in North Philadelphia and just in the distance and we're like looking out what are they doing? And it was a long bit. Anyway, I do that long bit. Somebody comes backstage at the main room full of comics.

Richard Pryor was watching that bit and he was just cracking up, man. He was dying. Really? Wow. So anyway, all the comics are backstage and Richard Pryor comes backstage with all of us, which generally didn't happen very much, happens sometimes, but he comes backstage.

And it's a long hallway, and I'm down the hall, and he's walking through the crowd of comics, and they're parting like the Red Sea, because he's looking at me, and he's walking right towards me, and everyone parts, and he walks up to me, and just says, you funny. You very funny.

and shakes my hand. Wow. And then just walks away. And there was silence backstage that kind of like, wow. And then fuck you, Tom. Yeah. And then, but that that, that's amazing. But I think at that point certainly, and even now,

stand up is a lot of street cred backstage of mileage on stage and what you've done. And that, he helped me a lot. just in the society of stand-up comics being accepted being accepted in there because it's a tough it is a tough tough tough business yeah they'll shit on you those no one's trying to help you yeah it was yeah i remember doing it and going back and you know Joe Rogan and David spade and all these guys there and you know you do a set you want back and you know you're always worrying about what they think what they think and they're doing their own thing and they're doing their own thing You know, but they were always nice, but like, you know, it was, I wanted to impress them.

Right. They're all decent guys. I got along with everybody. Yeah. You know, they're all decent guys, but everyone's doing their thing. Their thing. And if you sprain an ankle, they want your spot. Yeah.

If something happens, you know. Bob Saggett doesn't show him if he hurts himself. I did not go out to sunset and say, wait a minute, let's wait for Bob's car. Maybe he's on his way. No, I did not say that. At Medcan, we know that life's greatest moments are built on a foundation of good health, from the big milestones to the quiet winds. That's why our annual health assessment offers a physician-led, full-body checkup

that provides a clear picture of your health today and may uncover early signs of conditions like heart disease and cancer. The healthier you means more moments to cherish. Take control of your well-being and book an assessment today. Medcan, live well for life. Visit Medcan.com slash moments to get started. All right, before we jump back in, I just want to say thanks for listening and hanging out with us today. We've had the chance to sit down with over 300 guests on this show from people like Alan Richon, Canter Reeves, Kristen Ritter, and a lot of others along the way. So if you're newer here or you've missed some episodes, there are a ton of great conversations in the archives worth checking out.

And if you're enjoying the show, make sure you subscribe wherever you're listening. it really helps support the podcast. Guys, I can't emphasize that enough. And make sure these episodes show up for you every week. And before we get back into it, here's a quick preview of what we've got coming up, Brian Fuller and Maz Mickleson. If we're talking about emotional stuff,

something that's quite emotional, and then I don't want to rehearse it too much. I don't want to talk about it too much. Just want to make it like a slight schedule of kind of what we're going to do. here. And if that works, I am a take one person. That because we will never, ever do anything like that again. And then, of course, we'll have to do it quite a few times because, oh, the camera wasn't there or we forgot a word or we forgot a word. And then our job is to recreate it.

And sometimes we can do it. Sometimes we can't. Then they still have version one. Yeah. When it comes to stunts, yeah, of course, if we nail it, I get really pissed if we don't get it the first time. But sometimes we also have to, you know, find the choreography together. And then it's the fifth time where it's like it's, it's right there. Everybody was dancing together. The camera, the stunt guys, the actors, everything was immaculate. So that might be a little later in the process. But emotional stuff, take one, move on. It's cool. All right. Let's jump back in. When did the acting thing? What was like, you know, you're doing this? Are you auditioning at the same time? I was auditioning at the same time.

My thing really was acting is the primary thing. You know, I'm not quote unquote, just doing stand-up and doing doing cable specials and going on the road and doing a lot of road gigs and all that stuff. I started as an actor before I was doing stand-up and always considered myself an act. I even considered myself an actor in stand-up because I was only marginally good. until I took it like a play. Then I got good fast when I, literally, you know, going home in the train and not being really good at it, getting a few laughs. It's not enough.

It's not enough. And think, wait a minute. It's a play. It's a show. Yeah. I'm a character in a play. So I'm going to do a character of a guy that's way funnier than I am. Yeah.

And that's, and that's energetic. and shape that character in that show. And relatable in a way. All of that kind of stuff. Likeable. Because that's, to young comics, the most important thing is to find out how people think you're funny. How are you funny?

Yeah. Because people think, whatever it is, I'm going to do political humor. I'm going to comment on the issues of the day. Yeah. And just nobody reacts. Yeah. because they just don't find you funny that way.

Yeah, no, I understand. Did you have any idea how big back to the future would be? Obviously, you didn't know how big it was, but did you, when you heard about the audition, right? You got an audition for it? Yes. Did you hear, there's this role, there's this Robert Zemeckis film, his role of this. I think you'd be right for it. It was kind of like you just kind of thought, there was another audition.

I thought, it was a very significant script. It's Steven Spielberg. executive producing, Roberts and Mecca's directing. So it was a big movie. Before that, I'd done some commercials. I'd done some guest stuff on TV. I introduced biscuits at Kentucky fried chicken in a national commercial. So before me, no biscuits. Yeah. You're welcome. You're welcome. But not a movie. So my agent at the time convinced them to see me. for this. So, so, um, I went into the office with all these guys who, you know, had more credits in movies than I did. And casting person says, uh, well, I wasn't going to see you, but you're

supposed to be God's gift to acting. So let's see this. Really, that was the introduction. Are you serious? Yeah. So I did the scene, they had written a specific scene because it was a top secret thing. So they had written a specific scene for the audition. So I did the scene. and then, you know, four seconds of silence. Let me get Mike in here. So then Mike Fenton, the casting director, comes in. I do it again. And it was a long audition process where I finally,

Crispin Glover and I were cast together. Like when you paired up, okay, Michael, do the scene with Bob. You guys go outside and prepare it and you do it with Rick. All in the same day? The mix, no, no, no. This was over a period of maybe week. So you went in many times. I went in time after time after time.

Were you getting frustrated? No, I was getting hopeful. I really thought I don't have the credits to be cast in a big movie like this. But maybe I could be one of Biff's gang members. So if I keep doing a great job, maybe I'll get in this movie as one of the gang members. And they'll give Biff to, you know, some Andrew McCarthy or somebody. Right, right, right. Judd Nelson, one of those guys.

And then, so they paired us up with Crispin. Me and Crispin went in together, first time pair up, and we were just paired up for the rest of the time. I mean, decades later, they tell me, oh, as soon as you and Crispin read it, you guys left and we were like, those are the guys. Do you remember him being weird or odd? or what do you remember about him the first time you met him? Crispin is eccentric and absolutely brilliant.

We go in, I was a weak kid. I had asthma. I was pushed around by bullies my whole life. I didn't want to play a bully. I didn't like the character. I wasn't crazy about it. I thought I'd be one of Biff's gang members. But anyway, so Crispin and I go outside to work on the scene.

I turn to him, you know, you got my homework, Reddy McFly. And Crispin, you know, sort of turns into a human question mark. Well, Biff, I, and I had to stop because I almost started to cry. Because it was like looking at myself in the sixth grade. And I totally lost my train of thought. And he says, are everything? And I had to do that. Yeah, yeah.

It's, yeah, it's fine. It's fine. Yeah, let's try, we'll try it again. Wow. So we're doing the scene again, and I just thought, I'm probably not going to get this. Maybe I get one of Biff's gang members, if I get lucky. If they don't hire this guy, they're out of their minds because, man, this is brilliant. So in a TV audition or auditions. I mean, sometimes in the theater, you get with an actor where the headlights are very bright, man. You have to get into that scene and not bail on it and pay for it emotionally in every way. And that's Crispin. So we got into it. We got cast. We, um, it was an out of the ordinary experience to rehearse and prepare with Crispin. But man, he's the Lynch person. He's the Lynch

pin of the movie, and I always say that. Wow. So he deserves all the credit in the world for being absolutely brilliant so that nobody can forget it. I mean, I had the opportunity as an actor to act in scenes that just are absolutely immortal Hollywood history, you know? Yeah. And yeah, it's because of me and my commitment and all that. But it's also because of Crispin,

Crispin was there, completely there, and made the scenes what they are. Wow. So, you know, so, so I was a huge Crispin fan, still am. And, you know, Crispin's take on the movies, all that, I don't disagree with him. What's his take on the movie? He has his points.

He was, you know, he was upset about things, didn't end up doing the sequels. I think it costs the sequels very, very greatly not having Crispin because I think Crispin is the anchor. I think Back to the Future is a wonderful movie. And Michael is fantastic. Yeah. And Chris Lloyd is fantastic. And Leah is fantastic. I actually don't think the movie is about getting the kid in the car back to the future.

I think the movie is about no, Biff, you leave her alone. I think that's the core of the movie. Wow. Yeah, it's him standing up for himself. His standing up for himself and saying, no. Yeah. This isn't going to happen. Then he hits Bip, everything changes.

And now, of course, we're in a Hollywood movie. We have to go when the car has to get him back, and then everything's changed with his family. And all that stuff happens and the lightning and everything. A lot of fun. But the meaning of the movie is stand up for yourself. Wow. When it counts. Do you think a lot of other cast members feel the same way?

I have no idea. You don't know, but that's just the way your take. That's my take on it. And that's my take on why it strikes people so hard, so hard. so hard. Why people love it so much because it's two things. Yes, it's a fun

action adventure with a car that travels through space and everything and the question, what if you went on the time machine and met your parents? Would you like them? Unbelievable. Right, so it's that.

But it's also this character, George McFly, that has to learn and stand up for himself. which is family, which is, which is all of those, you know, deep, deep relationship. Yeah. Deep relationship between Doc Brown and Marty, between a crazy doctor and his friend. And how damaging it can be to be a child growing up who's picked on, who is not taken seriously, who is not listened to.

Absolutely. And then turning around and him standing up for himself. That's what we all hope because we all have that. You've done it. Look, I told you. I had asthma. I missed a lot of school and everything. Yeah.

We all have to. I grew through like 11th and 12th grade. All I was doing was eating and growing. And yes, you have, everyone has that moment. No, no, no more. That stops right now. Right. What about like the evolution of Biff?

Like, do you think that from the first takes when you first started filming, do you think you were growing and, you know, evolving to where, aware of the point where you're like, well, I would have done this differently if I was, you know, if I would have shot that now because, I mean, did you gain more confidence? Yeah, I don't think any actor doesn't feel like, man. Yeah. If only I had seen 83 one more time. Wow.

I didn't even do that thing I thought of in the reverse. Was there any scene that you thought like, eh, I'd like to do that again? I don't, I don't think so. After, after working with, with Crispin a little bit on the scenes. I realized that I had to, you know, there, as you know, there are two approaches in acting, generally speaking. Internal approach, my feelings and everything brought up by the method, all those things, and sense memory, all those things that come from inside of me and coming out.

And external. What am I going to wear? How am I going to move? How does this guy talk? Yeah. So I had to, I had to change from, internal was, was, I, used it in performing BIF, but it was very upsetting to me. It was, it was, wow. Because it was hard to act like that with people. Yeah. And believe it. So I had to do a lot of external work.

Instead of that, you know, as I said, like in early acting training, one of the Russian skis, Boloslovski, Stanislavski, Stonislavs, you talked, took students to the zoo to look at animals and they would have to do a character as if that animal was the character so biff became sort of a rooster you know just i started moving my neck more i started having my chest out more i started moving in a certain way talking in a certain way moving my head so i i had a commitment to that and then investing uh the internal things when it when it mattered you know it's i really appreciate you for feeling it and you know uh describing it because that's honestly what i felt like i went through when i was doing smallville in the

beginning playing this character that just was the antithesis of me it was just this brilliant uh you know megal maniacal billionaire you know confidence this shape hit shaved head all the all these things you know and my friends didn't help out because because they were like, dude, what? You're playing? That doesn't make any sense. And like, so it was so much pressure on me that I had to, I had to allow, okay, they shade my head.

That helped. Oh, the clothes I'm wearing. That helped all these things. So I understand like emotionally going, I'm not as cool as this guy. Right. Never feeling or not necessarily cool, but just like, this is something I really have to work on. Like I have to really believe, I have to believe it. is the most important thing.

I have to believe what I'm doing, what I'm saying, and that I am this guy. And that took a little time. And sometimes you've got to fake it for two takes. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes you have to blow it out with energy

and all that stuff. And I know they're using expensive film and all that stuff, but you've got to blow it out to find out the outer limits of where you're going and who you are. And then you can internalize things. And then bring it back and search for, search for new things if, you know, if the director's talented enough to see and sense what you're doing. And then come up after after a couple takes and just talk about quietly, like, that thing is fantastic.

Yeah. This thing, I would pull, you know, the reins a little bit and do this. That's a director. Yeah, that's a director. That's what, you know, if you're a talented director, that's, that's, that's what you do. You have to have the eyes and ears to, to, to sense those things. What was the best direction he ever gave you, Robert Zemeckis? Or one thing that you go, that changed this scene completely.

Or my performance was that much better because he gave me something, if there was anything. He, uh, Biff, who owns the casino, the older Biff, who's now rich and famous. He, uh, Mar, I'll try to make it brief. Marvin Davis was a very, very rich oil tycoon in Los Angeles. And Bob sent me, back then there was no internet. You had to have a clipping service to go into microfilm to get pictures of the person. Microfiche. That kind of stuff.

So he got pictures and stories about this guy Marvin Davis and just said, I want you to look at his eyes because it's like a great white shark. he said the nature of a billionaire is a very unusual thing they're so acquisitive it's like a soulless empty whole lifeless lifeless that they just want more everything yeah so just think about that for his eyes and the rest you know and you work on the rest from there but it's from a a lifeless pair of eyes that would sort of do anything just to continue getting ahead wow that's crazy i could see them he just turned it on i was like it's just it's yeah it's there's like nothing going on.

But of course, it's the actor's job. There's a lot of work that you take that, those words and go, okay, I get what you mean and take it. But was he like that? I was like, that's it. That's the like on set. Would he say that? He didn't say a lot.

He would just do a lot of takes and I didn't hear. Not much direction. I didn't hear a lot of. I heard a lot of direction in, in technical aspects, in everything. But by the second one, by the second back to the future, he was. like, Tom, just do your thing. Whatever you do, you're coming up with the stuff, man, do it. Because there was a point during the first one. Eric Stoltz was the original Marty. He'd been fired. Lots of things happened on the show. And I wasn't getting any feedback. American Skyjacker

tells the story of D.B. Cooper copycat Martin McNally, who hijacked a plane and jumped out with $500,000. But that's just the start of this epic true crime saga. Now American Skyjacker is an action-packed documentary available on all major platforms. Go to American Skyjacker.com to subscribe to the podcast and watch the film. And look out for a new bonus episode of the podcast coming soon. American Skyjacker, follow and listen on your favorite platform. It's back. Hey, it's Dan Bongino.

I've got some big news for you starting February 2nd. The show is back. That's right. The Dan Bongino show is relaunching and we're going bigger than ever. Join me live on rumble.com Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to noon Eastern. We'll cover the stories that matter, cut through all the garbage and get to the truth. Can't catch it live? No problem. Grab the audio wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, February 2nd, the return to the Dan Bongino show. Don't miss it. So I, like a kid, finally go up to Bob at his director chair.

Like, Bob is, is anything I'm doing good at all? I mean, I mean, what am I, what's, what are my, what's got, you know, and he just sit down to him. He goes, Tom, look at all the stuff that we're doing. It's very expensive to make a movie. Look at all these guys, pulling cables and everything. It's perfect. It's perfect.

If it's not perfect, that's when I say, let's do one more. But it's perfect. don't worry about a thing. Wow. So I was, so after that, that gave me the confidence. Yeah, you didn't need to hear it. Moving on. Well, yeah.

Well, at some point, you have to do that. Yeah. You have to be confident. If you're not confident in your skills. Right. What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing?

Don't start. I mean, you talk about Eric Stoltz. I mean, do you remember working with him and being, like, was he nice guy? He was, again, I'd say, like, We were very young men, you know, and it was a long time ago. And I have utmost respect for Eric as a person and his wonderful career and all of those things. But we were young guys together in a thing. And Eric was doing a very, very method heavy approach to Marty McFly.

So he was treating me very badly because he was. he wanted to be called Marty by everyone, by everyone, by, by the, by the hairstylists and by the director and by everyone. He was trying to embody Marty. Right. I thought it was odd, uh, coming in, because he'd been in a movie with Leah Thompson. He was supposed to be uncomfortable around her, but to him, he, she was Leah and they were all palsy-wowsy there, but he's treating me badly. So I thought it was a. selective method back then. Yeah.

And back then, you know, I didn't appreciate that. Right. Because I have an instrument too. I have, I'm on this stage as well as you are. So we both need what we need to work this scene. Right. I am not your servant in this scene where I'll be a particular way to make you comfortable. Right.

We're here together in order to do this. And I'm not asking you to do anything, to call me anything, to do anything. I'm asking you to know the words and show up here, ready to rock. Right. And I treat me like shit. And there was a lot of drama and angst and a lot of things that I think were not productive as a young man back then that led to his being replaced. Were you at all shocked when you heard? I was shocked because it was a big thing for a movie to do that.

Yeah. It was a big thing. So things were getting very uncomfortable in the set in discussions with Bob Zemeckis, the director, with Dean Kundi, the cinematographer. Things were unusual. And then everything got shut down. And I thought they're pulling the plug in the movie. It was so, I guess it's over.

And then the producers called me at home. I said, Tom, could you come in? We'd like to talk to you about something. And I thought, it's me. I'm getting fired. You thought that? Yeah. I'm the bad thing in the movie.

Because I didn't understand what was going on in scenes with him. I didn't understand, because I'd done a lot of theater and things, and I would walk away from the scene thinking, what was that? I don't think we were in the same scene together. I didn't even understand how to... And I thought, I guess he's right because he's done movies.

I must be wrong. So I said, it was Bob Gil. Bob, just tell me, just tell me on the phone. I'll just take it, you know. He said, we'd like you to come down here. Could you drive down to the office at Universal? It was the longest drive I've ever taken in my life.

And I'm thinking just stand up, be a gentleman about things, be professional, stand up, shake their hands. I say, thank you for the opportunity. And then we'll just figure out what to do in life because it'll not be this, I guess. So they bring me into the office and Bob Zemeckis, Bob Gale, and they said, listen, Tom, we have some bad news. We had to replace Eric. And you're like, yeah. I was sort of, I must admit, I wasn't that. elated elated but i was like that's not me i yeah i was like a like a cartoon guy you know who

melted and just sliding off the chair and just go wow okay hey is he okay but we're going to reshoot all this yeah we're going to reshoot everything with this guy from a tv show uh michael j fox who was uh who's on a hit tv show he's going to come in did you know of him I knew of him. Yeah, I didn't know him, but yeah. And then we're going to keep, we're going to redo everything we've done. And it was a, it was like six weeks of shooting. So we're going to do all of that over with this Michael J. Fox guy. And what was day one like with Michael J. Foxx? Michael was, Michael got the script. He understood the vibe of the whole thing. It's a kid trapped in the 50s. A time machine. Those things, it's, it's, uh, so he got, uh, I think what everyone was doing,

Crispin, myself, because we were all making choices. He was, he was within the story. We were all making, Christopher Lloyd, let's fit, was making choices. Oh, man. You know, Kurtz, all that stuff. And Leah and Crispin and myself. Um, so he came in and, uh, and, and took the movie, took it. And, you know, and it was, it became what it became. Did you walk out after the first scene was completed and thought, now that felt like we were both doing the same movie? I was so relieved. I was so relieved. Because it just felt like we did a scene together.

Not you were doing a thing and I was doing a thing. Did you tell him that? I think I did back then. You know, the funny thing, he says Michael, when Michael came on to the movie, he was intimidated because he thought I wasn't a movie he thought of all these movie actors

and everything I'm just you know guy from a TV show coming to the big movie and everything's easy I hope you know so he was he was insecure which was funny

but he was of course he was he was fantastic did you collect any memorabilia from the movie or anything from SpongeBob doing the voice work or any any same I have the same vocal cords

no but did you keep anything like any I have a small number of, yes, stupefyingly cool things that I really don't get into because it, because it's private. Because it is private. It's private. But honestly, to me, they're a part of some work that I did that kind of means something

and a memory to me. Now, 40 years later, you know, everyone's just about the value of them. Everyone's about the... Can you imagine if you put that on a... That seven trillion dollars? Yeah. I guess that's true. But...

And maybe, you know, my... Maybe I'll sell some things in when I'm really old and on a scooter or... Or my kids someday. Or, you know, I've thought about that a little... But it's something significant. It's something significant, yes. It's not just like a, you know, a stapler. Some guys came to me at a con and just said, do you, Mr. Wilson, all of the collectors

everywhere were just searching, but nobody knows where that big painting of Biff is, the painting that's in his casino office, where it's a door and you open the door and there's a safe behind it, but nobody knows. I said, you mean the paintings that's at my house? house. Wow. So, um, so there's some, yeah, there's some, that's awesome that you do. Obviously, you know I do that. I keep things. Of course. I have things. I kept things as well. I kept thing. Look, I have the parking pass of going on to Universal Studios for my audition, my first audition for Back to the Future. Are you serious? Because that's what I thought, I'm probably going back to acting in commercials and an occasional sitcom thing and everything.

But this was when I auditioned for a big, like, Stephen Spielberg, Universal Pictures movie. So I still have it. I have the script for the auditions that I told you about in back to the future. I have the script that they gave me for the auditions. I mean, I have a lot of things like, and again, it was absolutely not. like this is going to be worth a lot of money it was just for you it was just for me it was just a scene that I did with this guy Crispin in a in a in a movie that you know that I ended up to be one of Biff's gang members but you know but I auditioned with the guy that actually got the part in the thing

so so all of that stuff I took on like that like like just a a memory that's awesome so yeah so but nobody you know no one had any idea It was going to be that. Nobody had any idea. I mean, I'm just thinking how you got it out of there. You just asked for it? Yeah. Yeah, take it.

Pretty much. By the third one, by the second and third one, everything was getting stolen everywhere. They're putting on a pair of pants that were custom made for me. I said, Tom, please be careful with these pants. These are our only pair. I said, the only pair, I went to a fitting. We have one pair of the, they've all been stolen. somebody's sneaking into the wardrobe trail.

And we know the chances of you soiling these pants are very high. Yeah. So everything was kind of, uh, was, was vanishing. Jeez. By the time people know, oh, this is a classic for all time. But we didn't know it way back when. How long did you do SpongeBob? From a, from the beginning.

From the beginning. From the beginning. Yeah. From the beginning. Well, uh, back then, Nickelodeon did a thing. thing where they were doing pilot, five-minute-long pilots for most of the animators there to just shake things up. We don't know a direction to go, so everyone make a five-minute thing. And Stephen Hylenberg had worked right near my house in Dana Point at the Ocean Institute,

teaching kids about tide pools and ocean life, and he drew a little sponge guy in a pamphlet at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California, that just say, you know, These are crustaceans. So he came up with a five-minute pilot, this SpongeBob SquarePants. And everyone did think, like, what is it called? SpongeBob, because he's a sponge. SpongeBob?

And he's square pants? Yeah, because he wears square pants. SpongeBob Square Pants. Okay. All right. Bigger than Back to the Future. Blah, blah. So it's just,

Just crazy. A blessing. Yeah. Oh, unbelievable. Unbelievable. Probably SpongeBob and all that. And I'm on the Patrick show, a spinoff of SpongeBob. Yeah.

Probably my favorite job in my life. Because these guys have been so consistently funny for like 25 years. It's stupefying to me. That it's just funny and crazy and fun. wonderful people. You do sort of improvisational passes on the script. You do a couple. Okay, we got the script.

Now do crazy pass where everyone's doing stuff and maybe something really funny happens. So it's really, really great. I've really enjoyed like SpongeBob. It's amazing. Think about it. Acting, you did probably one of the biggest movies ever made. Voiceover acting. One of the biggest animated shows ever made.

It's pretty damn cool. I married a girl. 40 years. I do it big. I don't catch and release, buddy. You got four kids? I have four kids, 10 grandchildren. And we just, you know, we get along fine.

But I've been incredibly blessed and fortunate to do something like Back to the Future. And with all its attendant problems, it's been, you know, we have, I would say our relationship, is complicated, you know, because for a while there, it's the greatest thing that ever happened to me as an actor. For a long period of time, it is the worst possible thing that could have happened to me as an actor, you know, for a long time. For a long time, my little, my little snide remark was, hey, I wished, you know, I wished Eric Stoltz was Marty. Maybe the movie would have been less good. I could have had a career. But back in the day when I was trying to get out from under its foot.

And then I had to accept, then, you know, years go by. And you have to accept things that it's not the greatest thing that happened or the worst thing that happened. It's just this gigantic thing that happened. Yeah. I mean, do you still get noticed everywhere? Pretty much. Fortunately, I'm an old man now.

So I'm actually... Not really. You look good. Thanks, buddy. But I think that I get recognized a lot, but I think less now than even 10 years ago. Now I'm sliding by because a lot of kids haven't seen it. Which is unbelievable. A lot of young people haven't seen it. So that's fine.

I mean, now we're talking about a movie from a long, long time ago. Yeah, I know. What's the one line people ask you to sign or say? Well, I... The biggest one. It's the, this year has been the 40th anniversary. Wow. At the 25th anniversary, I said, I, 25 years, I really tried to make everybody happy,

everybody who came up to me. At the 25 years, I said, you know, I think I've been generous with this. But after 25 years, I'm not going to knock people on the head, and I'm not going to call anyone a butthead. anymore. And I'm going to have a season of my life where I just do that, where if you want to take a picture with me, I'm not beating you up. We just both look nice and we smile. And those kinds of things. But yes, everyone wants me to call them a butthead. Everyone wants me to knock them on the head. Everyone wants me to push their nephew around. You know, that's exhausting. It's just,

yeah, it's, it's a lot. It's a lot. Yeah. It's a lot. So along with Ringo, who did his thing. You know, I'm not going to sign this stuff. Because every, you know, because you become, you become not a person. You become the end of a treasure hunt. If only I have you sign this, say this, record this, videotape, whatever. Then I'll have another little, little diamond in my treasure chest. Yeah.

And I would rather just meet people as a person. I love that. All right, this is called shit talking with Tom Wilson, Thomas Wilson. These are my patrons, patreon.com slash inside of you, and they get to ask these questions. Oh, oh, they're awesome. They support the show. So it's rapid fire. Oh, boy.

Michael Kane doesn't blink, says, you probably hold the record for any actor whose character had no ingest, had to ingest manure. What did they use to make the manure? The manure was, the manure around me was peat moss steer feed dirt, but they would use this gummy, this goopy agent that they use in food. So it stuck to me. So it's stuck everywhere and it was all goopy and horrible looking. Hard to get off? Oh, impossible. It was, yes, yes.

That's sometimes as you in a scene, you're thinking, okay, how much am I making an hour? Yes. Especially in the first one, right? It was hard. It was, that was, we were in that for hours. And so in my mouth, I said, hey, I got to spit something out of my mouth. So that was, that was chewing tobacco and tutsi roll. Like in a big wad of, so, you know, you need that after.

So the audience is, ah. Yeah, that's awesome. Don G, can you believe that we still don't have hoverboards? How old are you, Don? Don G. Don G. That's Don. We were all promised a lot of things in the future.

And we got wonderful podcasts from Michael. But yeah, hoverboards were never. Zemeckis said something in the making of Back to the Future in an interview where, well, the government has this technology, but we've had to license it, but we're only using it for this movie, which was a total lie. He was making it up as a joke. And that got out as, hoverboards are real. The government has them.

But no, hoverboards don't exist. Little Lisa, what is your most prize possession? My most prize possession? I would say it's this ring that I wear. It was my dad's, and it belonged to a mentor of my dad. My dad was raised in an orphanage during the Depression. Every story that you can imagine was true. Great, great difficulty.

He was a smart guy. He got out of the orphanage. He got a job as a secretary. of a lawyer in Philadelphia. The lawyer finally says, you know, you got a lot on the ball, Tom. You could go to law school. You could be a lawyer. He says, I have no money. I was raised in an orphanage. He says, all right, if you work at night, you get through college, I'll put you through law school. I'll help you. You work for me during the day. The man's name was Marcel Viti, a Philadelphia lawyer. So he helped my dad through, my dad went to a Temple University of Law School.

the University of Pennsylvania, became a lawyer. And this is the religious medal that Marcel Viti wore on a chain. It's Jesus. It says, sweetheart of Jesus, have mercy on us with Jesus, lifting his hand and a blessing. He gave this to my dad. My dad in turn, you know, I was in my, maybe 30s. My dad gave it to me. It was from the 1800s.

The gold was so soft that I had, I went to the jeweler. to have the little thing put on it, to put it on a chain. And he said, this is so soft. I really, I don't think you should use it. So he suggested maybe it would be a ring. So I had to make it into a ring of Jesus giving a blessing from Marcel Vidi and my dad. Wow. And the great part of the ring is, is when I punch a guy right in the middle of the forehead,

it's like this purple bruise of Jesus giving a blessing. So it's very touching. That's amazing, though. It's an amazing story. It is an amazing story. Oh my God. And it just reminds me, not of nostalgia about my dad, but I really wear it to remind me of always reaching out in kindness. Yeah.

Of us kindness and mercy always, always, always to be trying to people, trying to help people. Man, I love that. I really love that. Yeah, me too. Me too. Leanne says if you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be and why? I guess it's coming to me, but I think I'm kind. Yeah, I think you're kind. Thoughtful.

I think my heart goes out to people. I think that of the great blessings that I've had, I don't deserve any of them. But I've tried to work hard. I've tried to work hard and be kind. I'm a Christian. That means a lot to me. I don't wear it on my sleeve, but that just, trying to live that life, trying to actually do it, try to really live it, and say it less.

St. Francis of Assisi said, live the gospel always. If necessary, use words. So I try to not use words as much as I use actions. Actions. I love. Very profound. This has been an absolute joy. this is uh this is way more than i i ever anticipated like it's we just went i i don't even know how to describe it i just loved it i love talking to you i love your emotion i love your passion i love your honesty about how you were and how you've you've evolved i you know um it's just it's impressive it's impressive and you've had some good people in your life and i think that's important too to surround yourself with good people people who inspire you, people who support you, and you've been with your wife for 40 years or more.

Yes. She's the anchor, rock, everything. I'm very into her. Very, very, very into sweet Caroline. Yeah. But look, stand-up comedy, we'll train you in that. As a young person at a nightclub on the sunset trip in Hollywood, in the early 80s, when a lot of crazy things were going on.

Yeah. And as a young guy, you know, use your brain and say, I think you should maybe do the stuff that that guy's doing and not the stuff that that guy's doing. And it'll work out for you. And I think that's been very, very true. When's the last time you did the song, The Back to the Future? Wow.

I really, I did a moratorium on that too, about at lockdown. There are these periods of my life where it's like, how can I healthfully let go of a back-to-the-future thing? Right. Was it tough to let go of that? It was because people love it. People ask for it all the time. I'll send it to you. It's brilliant.

It was like it was one of the earliest viral videos on YouTube. I didn't even know somebody, hey, this YouTube thing, put it out there, whatever. And in no time, it had in a couple of days it had 250,000. and views. This is back at the beginning of YouTube. Well, I remember. So it just went everywhere. It was so great. It was, it was, um, I had a problem. At the end of shows, I would stand in the parking lot of nightclubs or theaters. And I'd be talking about back to the future with people near their cars at three o'clock in the morning. I said, I have to really deal with this in the show so that I just can get out of here. So it's a, it's a song, all the questions are back to the

future. Every question people would ask him, he does this in the song. What's Michael J. Fox like? Nice. What's Christopher Lord like? Kind of quiet. You know, all that's just so I answered all the questions and all the questions that I was always asked by everyone. And then after I'd sing it, since it was a joke, people would be embarrassed to ask me other questions. I know you sang the song, but I had one more. Oh. But it worked. It worked.

Did a lot of the cast members from the movie enjoy it? Tell you they enjoy it. One of the great moments, this is years ago now, but Christopher Lloyd asked me to sing it in front of an audience of people. So I sang it and he gave me a standing ovation. and just loved it. How great is that? And that meant a lot to me. Oh, man.

That meant a lot to me. He's one of my favorites of all time. Chris is just incredible. He really is. He's just such a kind and so talented. I mean, I don't know anybody else who could have been Doc. I don't know anybody else who could have been Jim. I was so intimidated because, and I told him that, I was so intimidated to meet him.

Because I think the, what does a yellow light mean? Is the fun of the taxing? scene in history of television. I said since Lucille Ball, at the chocolate factory, you know, we're doing the grapes. Grapes. It's like Vitamita Veggimen. It's Lucille Ball at the peak is just what does a yellow light mean? I just keep asking.

Slow down. What? It's brilliant. You're brilliant. I thank you for being here. Thank you for having me, Michael. I hope I, you know. This was awesome.

This was fantastic. I think you're going to be really happy. I'm really happy. Thanks. I love Tom. Tom, that was awesome. I think I learned a lot. He just took me back into his life and back to the future and how it all happened and reshooting scenes and recasting of Eric Stoltz.

And I just found it so interesting. I think a lot of people will really enjoy it. Were you kind of surprised by it? Yeah, it's good. I mean, especially when you get someone who, You know, like they're, they're still kind of writing, I don't know if you know what this is like, they're still sort of writing off of one thing they did in their career. And, well, Smallville is certainly that. But he, no, but he's like, but he had a whole life to talk about.

And that's so much. And that's the thing with everybody. Like, you know, there's an entry point. What was back to the future. But then he talked about his comedy career. You talked about his, like, family and just like life after. and just like, and he's got like interesting stories and he's, he's been around. Yeah.

And he knows some stuff. They always say you're only as good as your last project. And I say, I don't believe that. I think if you're good, you're good. That's how I think. I think if you're great at something, you're great. Yeah. And if it wasn't the last project, it doesn't mean you're not great.

You're still great. So screw the industry when it comes to that because talent is talent. And, uh, I liked what I saw of imposter for what it's worth. Yeah, well, impaster. and pastor was fun. I enjoyed it. But thanks for listening. About to read the top tier patrons who give back to the show. If you want to join, you could become a guest on the show. You could, you'll get, there's Zooms I do. There's YouTube lives where you ask me anything. You have asked guests questions. I send boxes to a certain tier every couple of months with some nice things

and a note from me. I always message you when you join patron and it really helps the show without patrons. We couldn't do this show. So patron.com slash inside of you. These are the top tiers. Nancy D. Little Lisa, Ucico, Brian H., Niko P. Rob B. I.V. Is that right? The fourth. Rob B. The fourth. I. I don't have my reading glasses on. Oh. But Jason W. Raj C. Stacey L. Jamal F. Janelle B. Mike L. Dan Supremo, 99 more. Santiago M. Kendrick F. Belinda and Dave H. Dave H. Brad D. Ray H. Tab of the T. Tom and Talia M. M. David G. Betsy D. Rian N. C. Michelle A. Jeremy C. Mr. Melsky, Eugene R. Monica T. Mell S. Eric H. Amanda P. I love all of you. Amanda R. Amanda R. You don't have my reading glasses on. These are blurry. Kevin E. Oh, Kevin E. You've such a

a giving loving man. Jammin J. Leanne J. Luna R. Jules M. Jessica B. Frank B. And who else? We had, Gen T. Randy S. Claudia. Claudia. Claudia. Rachel D. Nick W. Stephanie and Evan.

Staven. Charlene A. Don G. Jenny B. 76. N. G. Tracy. Heather and Grecy. Heather and Grecy. And Keith B. And Keith B. Heather and Greg. Grether. Grether. I'll be seeing them on the 18th. We're having lunch.

Oh, lovely. Yeah, they did this thing for food on foot, and they're having lunch with me and Sherry O'Terry O'Terry. So that's going to be beautiful. Oh, lovely. Ben B. Jammin. Pierre C. Sultan, Dave T. Brian B. T. Pog, Gary F. Jackie J. J. R. Ritzel, Pitzel, Benjamin R. Other brother, Daryl, Ivan G. John A. Michaela L. Without you guys, I couldn't do it. And also on the inside of your store, I have Zoom. You guys want Zooms and you can go there and get a Zoom with me if you want. I forgot to throw that in the beginning. But what are you going to do?

From the Hollywood Hills in Hollywood, California, I'm Michael Rosenbaum. I'm Ryan Taylor. I'm here as well. A little wave to the camera. I love you. Please be good to yourself. And I can't. My voice is all raspy now.

I don't know. But be good to yourself and I'll see you soon. Hey, I'm Chris Van Fleet. Host of the number one podcast, Insight with Chris Van Fleet. On the show, I sit down with the biggest names in pro wrestling, sports, film. and beyond. These are real long-form conversations that go behind the scenes and beyond the headlines

with people like John Cena, The Undertaker, Cody Rhodes, and more. We talk mindset, motivation, and what it takes to succeed. This is Insight with Chris Van Vle. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.