Melora Hardin, best known for her role as Jan Levinson on "The Office," recently reflected on being fired from "Back to the Future" after Michael J. Fox replaced Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly. In a recent interview, Hardin described the experience as "a huge disappointment".
Hardin, who was 17 at the time, had been cast as Jennifer Parker, Marty McFly's girlfriend, and had already filmed for six weeks. However, the actress was let go because she was deemed too tall to star alongside Fox, who is shorter than Stoltz. According to Hardin, two female executives felt it would be "emasculating" for the lead male character to be in scenes with a taller woman.
"Back to the Future was a huge disappointment," Hardin told Entertainment Weekly. "I was 17, you know. I burst into tears," she said. "It was very sad. There were quite a few of those that I remember, you know, things that never really got made. But that I remember being very tough".
Hardin had signed a two-picture deal for "Back to the Future," which guaranteed her a spot in any sequels. This made losing the role even more difficult. Ultimately, Claudia Wells replaced Hardin as Jennifer Parker in the original 1985 film. However, Wells was also recast for the sequels, with Elisabeth Shue taking over the role in "Back to the Future Part II" (1989) and "Back to the Future Part III" (1990).
Despite the setback, Hardin's career continued to flourish. Before being cast in "Back to the Future," Hardin had already starred in her own NBC kids series and appeared in "Little House on the Prairie". She is best known for her role as Jan Levinson in NBC's "The Office" (2005–2013), Trudy Monk in USA Network's "Monk" (2004–2009), and Tammy Cashman in Amazon Prime Video's "Transparent" (2014–2019). She also starred as Jacqueline Carlyle in the Freeform comedy-drama "The Bold Type" (2017-2021). More recently, Hardin originated the role of Francine Blake in the 2024 Broadway play "McNeal".
Hardin has been acting since she was six years old and has learned to cope with rejection. However, the disappointment of losing the role in "Back to the Future" remains a vivid memory.
