Thomas F. Wilson: Why don’t you “make like a tree and…”
It takes a lot of qualities to make the main antagonist in a film entertaining: a resonant voice, diabolical actions, verbal threats, a spoiled or selfish personality, and throw some greedy desires in for good measure. But on special occasions, actors can also bring humor to the antagonist they portray on screen. Humor is an endearing quality as well, because it can make you either make you root for them, or feel compassion, and it helps you love to hate them. It depends on your point-of-view. In today’s blog, I’d like to tell you about the actor who portrayed one of cinema’s most hilarious main antagonists, over the course of three different movies, Thomas F. Wilson…
Thomas F. Wilson was born on April 15th, 1959 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in nearby Wayne, which is where he attended Radnor High School and became involved with the dramatic arts. He was an exceptional student, a tuba player and drum major of his high school band, and was the president of the school debate team. After graduating high school, he even studied international politics at Arizona State University. Despite that, he always felt that acting was his true calling and he relocated to New York City to study that at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. While attending there, he began performing stand-up comedy.
After studying in New York, he relocated again to Los Angeles in the early 1980s to try his luck. He landed his first acting job ever in an episode of the NBC series Knight Rider (1982-1986), and had a small role in an episode of The Facts of Life (1979-1988). It wasn’t long after Wilson performed in these two episodes that he heard NBC’s parent company, Universal Studios, was casting for a new film entitled “Spaceman From Pluto.” The film was to be about a young teenage boy and his middle-aged scientist best friend and how they time traveled from the 1980s to the 1950s and then back to the 80s again. They were looking for someone to play the teenager’s bully, but who could bring humor to the part. The producers originally considered Tim Robbins and J.J. Cohen for the part, but when Wilson auditioned, Director Robert Zemeckis and Screenwriter Bob Gale, knew they had found their Biff Tannen (J.J. Cohen, was later cast as Skinhead, one of Biff’s cronies.) The film was later renamed Back to the Future (1985).
While portraying Biff, Wilson based his personality upon experiences that he had had, being bullied as a child. He improvised the catchphrases “Make like a tree and get outta here,” and “butthead.” He didn’t get along terribly well with Eric Stoltz, whom they had originally cast as Marty McFly. Stoltz took the physical aspects of playing Marty McFly too seriously, nearly breaking Wilson’s collarbone in the cafeteria scene where Marty and Biff are on the verge of a fight. Wilson in real life, was on the verge of returning the favor, before he was replaced by Michael J. Fox. Fortunately, Fox and Wilson got along perfectly well, and so did the rest of the cast. Wilson also returned for both the film’s two sequels, Back to the Future part 2 (1989) and Back to the Future part 3 (1990) playing not only Biff Tannen, but also the roles of Biff’s extended family, grandson Griff Tannen in “part 2,” and great-grandfather Buford “Mag Dog” Tannen in “part 3.” He also voiced Biff and other various Tannen relatives in the CBS television show Back to the Future: The Animated Series (1991-1992). He voiced Biff yet again for Back to the Future: The Ride at Universal Studios theme part in Orlando which opened in 1991.
After the BTTF trilogy, Wilson continued acting, taking roles in High Strung (1991) and Blood In Blood Out (1993). He took up voice acting and has lent his voice to numerous cartoon television shows, Gargoyles (1994-1997), 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997-1998), and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-2001). He appeared in Disney’s remake of That Darn Cat (1997) opposite Christina Ricci and Doug E. Doug and lent his voice to Atlantis: Milo’s Return (2003), the direct-to-video sequel to Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). Besides all his Disney work, Wilson has voiced numerous characters on the classic Nickelodeon series Spongebob Squarepants (1999-present). In “The Bully,” episode of Spongebob, Wilson voices a character called Flats the Flounder who threatens to “kick” Spongebob’s butt, very similar and reminiscent of Biff. Wilson voiced the first two “Spongebob” movies: The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004) and The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015).) Before the second “Spongebob” movie Wilson played Captain Frank Woods in The Heat (2013) starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.
Besides acting, Wilson is an exceptional writer and painter. The same year as “BTTF part 2,” he wrote a short film called The Last Ride (1989) and inspired by his Catholic faith, he wrote, co-produced and starred in a television series called Get Serious: Seven Deadly Sins in 1996. His paintings, were primarily of classic children’s toys, including the View-Master and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. He also painted the beloved Disneyland Attraction “Dumbo the Flying Elephant,” so it was only natural that his art would be selected to join the California Featured Artist Series at Disneyland in 2006. In 2009, he wrote a new stand-up comedy routine that includes the “Biff Question Song,” which answers all the questions that fans of BTTF have asked him over the years. Although still proud to this day of having been a part of the series, it was always frustrating to him to have to answer the same questions over and over again, which is why he wrote that song. When not performing the song he gives fans a postcard with the answers to the questions as a timesaver. He wrote a memoir called The Masked Man: A Memoir and Fantasy of Hollywood in 2012.
Thomas F. Wilson has had a career in show business for nearly four decades. Looking back at everything he’s done from live acting and voice-acting to writing and producing, to even painting and stand-up performing, he really is a jack or in his case a “Tom” of all trades. He will forever be remembered as the disgruntled, wisecracking Biff Tannen in the “Back to the Future” trilogy, though he brings humor to every role he plays. And for that, he will always be beloved.
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