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Rise to Fame
George McFly launched him, and declining to play George McFly again defined him. After Back to the Future (1985), he refused to return for the sequel over a pay dispute, so the producers cast someone else in prosthetic makeup made from a mold of Glover's face. He sued, and while the case settled out of court, SAG rewrote its rules on actor likeness rights because of it. The kid who wouldn't play ball accidentally changed how Hollywood treats its actors.
In the Spotlight
The 'difficult' label stuck after Back to the Future, and Glover stopped trying to shake it. He played the Thin Man in Charlie's Angels (2000) and the title character in Willard (2003), both roles that suited someone who'd given up on likability. He's been making experimental films since the 1990s, none with traditional releases. He tours them personally, showing up in theaters worldwide to answer questions after each screening. His third film premiered at MoMA in 2025. He screened it himself.
Side Notes
In 1987, he showed up on Late Night with David Letterman in a wig and platform shoes, asked Dave to arm wrestle, then threw a kick toward his head. Letterman walked off. Glover has spent decades since claiming he can neither confirm nor deny the appearance even happened. He owns a 17th-century chateau in the Czech Republic where he films his movies, rents rooms via Airbnb when he's not shooting, and runs a small press called Volcanic Eruptions that publishes his books. Whether it was a character or not, the kick was real.