A dashing actor who enjoyed the heyday of his career in the 1980s and 1990s was unrecognizable when spotted in New York recently.
The California-born actor made his movie debut with a small part as an unnamed character in the 1982 classic Fast Time at Ridgemont High.
He shot to fame in a critically acclaimed role as the son of a character played by Cher, earning a Golden Globe nomination for his work.
During the 1980s, he was cast in the lead role of one of the most beloved film franchises in Hollywood history, only to be fired after five weeks of shooting and replaced with the actor who is now best-known for the part.
As the next couple of decades unfolded, he acted alongside some of the top names of the era including Jennifer Lopez, John Travolta and John Cusack.
When he surfaced in Manhattan last week, he was bundled up against the winter cold in a bulky anorak and knit cap, wearing a surgical mask tucked under his chin.
Can you guess who he is?
A dashing actor who enjoyed the heyday of his career in the 1980s and 1990s was unrecognizable when spotted in New York recently
When he surfaced in Manhattan last week, he was bundled up against the winter cold in a bulky anorak and knit cap, wearing a surgical mask tucked under his chin
He is none other than Eric Stoltz, who shot to fame in the 1985 drama Mask as Rocky Dennis, a teenager disfigured by a genetic disorder commonly called ‘lionitis.’
Based on a true story, the movie starred Cher as Rocky’s mother Dusty, in a performance that earned her a best actress award at Cannes – though she was famously snubbed at the Oscars before winning two years later for Moonstruck.
Stoltz was also the actor originally cast as Marty McFly in Robert Zemeckis’ sci-fi comedy classic Back to the Future, the first film in the fan favorite franchise.
However he was fired five weeks into the shoot – reportedly because his ‘method’ acting butted up against the lighthearted comic tone Zemeckis wanted – and replaced with Michael J. Fox in what became his best-remembered role.
‘I felt for Eric,’ recalled Christopher Lloyd, who played the crotchety Doc Brown, owner of the DeLorean that doubles as a time machine.
‘He was a really good actor. Although he was doing the part well, he was not bringing that element of comedy to the screen,’ Lloyd told author Caseen Gaines for the book We Don’t Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy.
Stoltz had in fact made his movie debut three years earlier as the unnamed ‘Stoner Bud’ in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the coming-of-age film starring such names as Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Judge Reinhold.
However it was Mask that shot Stoltz to stardom, enabling him to work with some of the best-known Hollywood names of the 1980s and 1990s.
Eric Stoltz shot to fame in the 1985 drama Mask as Rocky Dennis, a teenager disfigured by a genetic disorder commonly called ‘lionitis,’ with Cher as his mother
Quentin Tarantino fans will recognize Stoltz instantly as Lance, the bearded, long-haired drug dealer of John Travolta’s character Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction
Two years later Stoltz (right) had a supporting part in the classic teen romantic comedy Say Anything…, with John Cusack (left) and Ione Skye (center) in the main roles
Three years after Pulp Fiction, Stoltz appeared in the 1997 action adventure romp Anaconda amid a cast including Jennifer Lopez
Stoltz made his movie debut as the unnamed ‘Stoner Bud’ in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, in which he is pictured (left) with Sean Penn (center) and Anthony Edwards (right)
He landed a John Hughes comedy with Some Kind of Wonderful, a 1987 teen drama he led alongside Lea Thompson, the mother of Zoey Deutch.
Two years later he had a supporting part in the classic teen romantic comedy Say Anything…, with John Cusack and Ione Skye in the main roles.
Quentin Tarantino fans will recognize Stoltz instantly as Lance, the bearded, long-haired drug dealer of John Travolta’s character Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction.
During Vega’s rollercoaster night out with his boss’ wife Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman), she begins to overdose on heroin and so he rushes her to Lance, who supplies him with the adrenaline shot that he plunges into her chest to save her life.
Three years after Pulp Fiction, Stoltz appeared in the 1997 action adventure romp Anaconda amid a cast including Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube and Jon Voight.
He has also worked extensively as a television director on such shows as Glee, Grey’s Anatomy, Nip/Tuck, Nashville and How to Get Away with Murder.
On the personal front, Stoltz had a seven-year romance with Bridget Fonda that fell apart in 1997, and for the past two decades has been married to Irish singer Bernadette Moley, with whom he shares a daughter.
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