Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown, commonly referred to as "Doc Brown" or simply "Doc", is a fictional scientist in the Back to the Future franchise. He was created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. First appearing in the 1985 film Back to the Future, he is an eccentric mad scientist and friend to the protagonist Marty McFly. In the franchise, he invents a time machine using a DMC DeLorean. He is portrayed by Christopher Lloyd in all three films and in the television series and was loosely inspired by Leopold Stokowski and Albert Einstein.
Lloyd also voiced Brown on the 2010 videogame Back to the Future: The Game and the 2015 videogame Lego Dimensions.
He is also voiced by Dan Castellaneta in the animated sections of the television series.
In Back to the Future, he introduces Marty McFly to the DeLorean time machine that he invented, which results in Marty being accidentally transported back to the year 1955. He returned alongside Marty in Back to the Future Part II, in which they travel into the future to 2015. In Back to the Future Part III, he is accidentally transported back to 1885 and there builds another time machine using a steam engine locomotive.
Emmett Brown has been ranked by critics as one of the greatest film characters of the 1980s and is regarded as Lloyd's most memorable film role. He was listed by Empire as one of the greatest film characters of all time.
Development
Casting
During development of Back to the Future, several actors were considered for the role, including Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow, Dudley Moore, Ron Silver, Robin Williams, John Cleese, Mandy Patinkin, Gene Hackman, James Woods, and Mark Mothersbaugh. Jeff Goldblum auditioned for the part but lost out when Christopher Lloyd was cast as Emmett Brown. Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh also recalled being approached by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg for the role, but turned it down because he was not interested in acting. Producer Neil Canton suggested Lloyd to Bob Gale and Zemeckis, as he had previously worked with him on The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Lloyd initially turned it down as he was not familiar with Zemeckis, but was encouraged by his wife to reconsider. Despite his reluctance, Zemeckis knew immediately that he was the right actor for the role, commenting "He just had everything the character needed." Lloyd was significantly younger than his character, being 46 years old at the time of filming Back to the Future, so the makeup artists made him look older. The Back to the Future novels state that Emmett Brown was born in 1920, placing him at the age of 65 in 1985. The character's appearance was inspired by Albert Einstein and Leopold Stokowski. Lloyd recalled discussing his inspirations with Zemeckis, after he was influenced by an album cover depicting Stokowski in front of the cosmos with white hair.
Production
The script for Back to the Future was written by Gale and Zemeckis. They wrote two drafts and pitched the second draft. Although the script was rejected more than 40 times, Steven Spielberg showed interest in producing the film at Amblin Entertainment. Sid Sheinberg, the head of Universal Pictures also liked the story but wanted to make certain changes. Originally Emmett was given the title "Professor Brown" but Sheinberg thought viewers would dislike it and changed it to "Doc Brown". He also rejected the idea that Emmett should have a pet chimpanzee, so this was changed to a dog, because he believed that "no movie with a chimpanzee ever made any money". In the second draft of the script, Doc's time machine was a "time chamber" similar to a refrigerator, which he would have to transport in the back of his truck. Zemeckis conceived an alternative solution by making the time machine mobile and incorporating it into a vehicle. Storyboard artist Andrew Probert said that Doc Brown's car was designed to be a DeLorean, but Gale had to reject various offers from automotive companies that wanted to be included in the film. At one point, a member of the production team responsible for product placement approached Gale with a deal from the Ford Motor Company which suggested that Doc Brown should drive a Ford Mustang. Gale rebuffed the offer stating, "Doc Brown does not drive a f-cking Mustang". For the character's signature expression, Gale stated that Zemeckis had come up with the idea of using "Great Scott!". He initially thought Doc Brown would use the phrase "Great Caesar's Ghost!" because it was from a Superman television series they had grown up watching. The phrase "Great Scott!" was spoken by another character that he could not remember.
Filming for Back to the Future took place in late 1984 and early 1985 in a variety of locations. The scenes involving Doc Brown's 1955 mansion home, which in the film is located at the fictional address of 1640 Riverside Drive in Hill Valley, California, were shot at the Gamble House in Pasadena. The Gamble House's carriage house was used for Doc Brown's garage, which by 1985, has become his residence after the mansion is destroyed. The garage's exterior was replicated for the scenes. For the interior of his home, the Robert R. Blacker House was used for filming. When Eric Stoltz was replaced by Michael J. Fox for the part of Marty McFly in the sixth week of filming, Lloyd was initially worried by the casting change, as he was concerned about having to reshoot the scenes. Despite these reservations, he found that he had a natural chemistry with Fox that meant it was easy to work with him.
In Back to the Future Part III, Doc Brown develops a relationship with Clara Clayton in 1885, a character portrayed by Mary Steenburgen. Despite being an experienced actor of 15 years, Lloyd needed to speak to Zemeckis before filming a scene in which he kisses her, to explain that he had never before had an onscreen kiss. Gale opined that Lloyd was effective in the part of a romantic male lead. Zemeckis said that during production of the first film, they decided to write a scene to explain Doc Brown's disinterest in women, in which he is forced to choose between a relationship and science and ends up choosing science. The scene was eventually left out of the second film. Zemeckis explained that the third film illustrates the character's growth from an eccentric to a man capable of falling in love: "he gets in touch with that boyish, romantic, innocent part of himself".