&34;I'm not gonna knock anyone on the head,&34; the actor declared. Sorry, Back to the Future fans, but Biff actor Tom Wilson won't call you 'butthead' anymore &34;I'm not gonna knock anyone on the head,&34; the actor declared. By Wesley Stenzel :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/WesleyStenzelauthorphoto32b61793a2784639af623f2ae091477e.jpg) Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at . He began writing for EW in 2022. EW's editorial guidelines January 22, 2026 8:30 p.m. ET :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/TomWilson1012126c4faa5dd8e214583be0aa0d8c4096699.jpg) Tom Wilson in 'Back to the Future'.

"I'm not gonna knock anyone on the head," the actor declared.

Sorry, Back to the Future fans, but Biff actor Tom Wilson won't call you 'butthead' anymore

"I'm not gonna knock anyone on the head," the actor declared.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

January 22, 2026 8:30 p.m. ET

Tom Wilson in 'Back to the Future'. Credit:

Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

- Tom Wilson said that he spent the first 25 years of *Back to the Future* fame granting fans' requests to call them "butthead."

- The actor behind Biff said that he eventually decided to create some distance between himself and his bully character.

- "If you wanna take a picture of me, I'm not beating you up," Wilson said.

Tom Wilson appreciates the recognition that *Back to the Future* has bestowed upon him — but he doesn't want fans to interact with him as if he's his character.

The actor, who played bully Biff Tannen and other antagonistic members of the Tannen family in Robert Zemeckis' time-travel trilogy, explained why he's adjusted the way that he approaches his fans during a conversation with Michael Rosenbaum on his podcast *Inside of You*.

The *Freaks and Geeks* star explained that he spent the first quarter-century of *BttF* fame acquiescing to every fan's wishes. "[For] 25 years, I really tried to make everybody happy. Everybody who came up to me," Wilson explained. "After 25 years I said, 'You know, I think I've been generous with this, but after 25 years, I'm not gonna knock anyone on the head, and I'm not gonna call anyone "Butthead" anymore.'"

Tom Wilson in 'Back to the Future Part II'.

Universal Pictures

Wilson explained why he didn't want to continue embodying his character or repeating his catchphrase ad nauseum. "I'm gonna have a season of my life where I just, if you wanna take a picture of me, I'm not beating you up," he said. "We just both look nice and we smile. And those kinds of things. But yes, everyone wants me to call them a butthead, everyone wants me to knock them on the head, everyone wants me to push their nephew around."

The *Informant* actor said that too much association with one character can lead to dehumanizing experiences with fans. "You become not a person," he reflected. "You become the end of a treasure hunt. 'If only I have you sign this, say this, record this, videotape this, whatever, then I'll have another little diamond in my treasure chest.' And I would rather just meet people as a person."

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Wilson, who has primarily focused on voice acting in projects like *SpongeBob SquarePants* and *Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia* in recent years, said that his attitude toward *Back to the Future* has shifted over the course of his career.

"I would say our relationship is complicated," he said. "Because for a while there, it's the greatest thing that ever happened to me as an actor. For a long period of time, it is the worst possible thing that could have happened to me as an actor."

Tom Wilson in Toronto on Aug. 31, 2018.

Che Rosales/Getty

He sometimes imagined an alternate universe where the first actor who played Marty McFly had stayed in the role instead of being replaced by Michael J. Fox. "For a long time, my little snide remark was, 'Hey, I wish Eric Stoltz was Marty. Maybe the movie would've been less good, I could've had a career,'" Wilson remembered. "Back in the day when I was trying to get out from under its foot. And then years go by, and you have to accept things. It's not the greatest thing that happened, or the worst thing that happened, it's just a gigantic thing that happened."

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Wilson said that he is still constantly recognized by passersby, though his familiarity has started to decline as he's aged. "I get recognized a lot, but I think less now than even 10 years ago," he said. Now I'm sliding by. Because a lot of kids haven't seen [*Back to the Future*]. A lot of young people haven't seen it. So that's fine. I mean, now we're talking about a movie from a long, long time ago."

Watch the full conversation between Wilson and Rosenbaum above.

- Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW Sci-Fi"

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Source: Sci-Fi

Published: January 24, 2026 at 08:39PM on Source: RED MAG

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