Matthew Modine turned down Back to the Future role

Matthew Modine turned down Michael J. Fox’s role in Back To The Future because he didn’t feel he was the right fit for the film.
The star was asked to replace Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly, but turned it down. However, he has no regrets about not starring in the movie because he subsequently landed one of his most famous roles in Full Metal Jacket.
“(Actor) Kevin Nealon just asked me (why I didn’t take the role), he said, ‘You’re stupid’,” he told U.S. chat show The Talk on Monday (05Jun17). “My best friend Eric Stoltz had been cast in the part and they were having some trouble and they said, ‘You have 24 hours to decide if you want to replace him.’ I said, ‘Why are you replacing him?’ and they said, ‘There’s just some (problems)’.”
“I think of actors in terms of cereal so they were looking for Shredded Wheat and I’m Cheerios and maybe Eric Stoltz was Fruit Loops,” he added. “When you’re casting, 90 per cent of making a film is putting the right actor in the right role. So I just felt like I was going to be the wrong actor and I turned it down and I waited and waited and the next script that came was Full Metal Jacket.”
The Back to the Future role ended up being an iconic part for Fox and he went on to star in two sequels.