Melora Hardin said she was devastated after losing her role in “Back to the Future” as a teen. The actress is known for her role as Jan Levison in the popular workplace comedy “The Office” and as Trudy Monkton in “Monk.”
The 54-year-old started her career in acting at a young age and debuted with her appearance in the “Thunder” series. Since then, Hardin has been a part of over 70 productions, films, series, and TV programs.
One role that got away from the actress was Jennifer Parker in the 80s film “Back to the Future.” Hardin revealed that losing the movie role was “very painful” to her at 17, especially for the reason the movie executives gave. Here are all the details.
Melora Hardin Was Devastated After Losing Role
Losing a role because an actor can’t act is one thing, but losing it because they’re too tall? Hardin got candid in her interview with Page Six, detailing being axed off the cast of “Back to the Future” and why the film’s executives gave her the boot.
When she was 17, the Emmy nominee was cast as Jennifer Parker to play alongside Eric Stoltz. The actor was to play the role of Marty McFly but later got replaced by Michael J. Fox. Hardin also got kicked off the show alongside Stoltz.
When recounting the incident, the 54-year-old mentioned that it was “so very, very painful” for her at the time. “There’s no doubt it was very painful.” Hardin added, “I’d already had painful things happen, so I knew how to get through things.
Hardin Was Too Tall For Role
Before she was cast in “Back to the Future,” Hardin revealed that she was previously accepted into Joffrey Ballet’s Summer scholarship program. However, the “Love Classified” actress was let go barely a year later.
Hardin discovered why she was let go a few years after the incident. According to her, the decision came from some female executives on board who had a problem with her height. The actress revealed that they “felt that it emasculated their lead character to have a taller girlfriend.”
Recalling the incident, Hardin noted the gender of the executives, adding that their actions were “interesting.” She said, “I feel like it’s an interesting sign of the times that it was the female executives that felt like they had to be protecting the masculinity of their lead character that way.”
The “Hannah Montana” actress also added that while her setbacks were painful, they helped her get to her current point. “I wouldn’t have probably done ‘The Office,’” she said. “So I think that with the perspective of age and time, you know, certainly in the moment, it looked like just a completely awful thing, but looking back on it, it’s probably good.”
Hardin Is In ‘Love Classified’
In her interview, Hardin shed some light on her role in her latest movie, “Love Classified.” According to her, the family comedy isn’t “Hallmark’s normal fare” because it is mainly focused on her character and her attempt to reconcile with her adult children.
Hardin said, “It’s a little different than Hallmark’s normal fare in the sense that this is really about a woman kind of reconnecting with her grown children. And because my character’s a romance novelist, she sort of has a tendency to sort of spin love everywhere she goes while she’s healing her own heart.”
Hardin’s other recent project, “Thunder, Hunter & Me,” saw her in a different role as the director. The documentary series mainly focuses on trauma and the impact of female friendships in healing said trauma.
‘Love Classified’ Was Released On April 16
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Hardin’s role in the Hallmark movie is as a novelist called Emilia, who comes back under the guise of a book signing after a prolonged time out of her children’s lives. Emilia is then shown trying to reconnect with her children, Taylor and Zack, who are both adults now.
Via IMBd, “Love Classified” was described as “a story of love, family, and commitment in all its forms.” The movie was written by Lynn Sternberger and had Neal Dodson as the producer. Stacey Harding was in charge of directing. Other actors include Arienne Mandi, Katherine McNamara, and Max Lloyd-Jones.
