Future Boy by Michael J. Fox & Nelle Fortenberry: Book Review

Future Boy is the latest release from actor Michael J. Fox. Released in October 2025, it takes readers back to a crazy time in Fox’s life. The star of a popular sitcom, Fox is offered the movie role of a lifetime. The catch is that he needs to work on both the show and the movie simultaneously.

Synopsis from Goodreads

In early 1985, Michael J. Fox was one of the biggest stars on television. His world was about to get even bigger, but only if he could survive the kind of double duty unheard of in Hollywood. Fox’s days were already dedicated to rehearsing and taping the hit sitcom Family Ties, but then the chance of a lifetime came his way. Soon, he committed his nights to a new time-travel adventure film being directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg, Back to the Future. Sitcom during the day, movie at night – day after day, for months.

Fox’s nightly commute from a soundstage at Paramount to the back lot at Universal Studios, from one dream job to another, would become his own space-time continuum. It was in this time portal that Alex P. Keaton handed the baton to Marty McFly while Michael J. Fox tried to catch a few minutes of sleep. Alex’s bravado, Marty’s flair, and Fox’s comedic virtuosity all swirled together to create something truly special.

My Opinions

As someone who grew up in the 1980s, I remember watching Fox as Alex P. Keaton every week, though mostly after the period covered in the book. And like most Gen-X, I remember watching him as Marty McFly for the first time. For me, it wasn’t on the big screen, but the impact of Back to the Future was the same no matter what! So it felt like a no-brainer to read Future Boy. And I’m glad that I did.

From reading Future Boy, I learned things about the filming of Back to the Future that I hadn’t known. Like someone else had originally been cast to play Marty McFly. That seems preposterous to me. It turns out the role was actually written for Fox, but he wasn’t initially offered it because of his obligations to Family Ties.

I listened to the audiobook, which Fox himself narrated, and I highly recommend it as well. There are sound bites of various interviews conducted while writing the book. The physical copy has photos from Fox’s life, both before he became famous and from the sets of both the show and the movie.

Overall, anyone interested in TV and movie production would enjoy reading Future Boy. I also recommend it to everyone in search of a quick, refreshing, and blunt memoir.

Are you looking for some more books to read? Check out my bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.