What Happened to… Biff Tannen and His Gang

Thomas F Wilson as Biff Tannen

Where Did He Come From?

Much like the Fresh Prince, Tom Wilson was Philadelphia born and raised, catching the acting bug at a young age. He soon moved to California and started performing stand-up at venues like The Improv and The Comedy Store. His large 6’3″ frame made him perfect for tough guy roles, and soon enough he was cast as Biff Tannen, cinema’s greatest bully, in Back To The Future.

Where is he Now?

Soon after Back To The Future, Wilson starred in the criminally underrated APRIL FOOL’S DAY and the equally brilliant ACTION JACKSON. He then returned to the roles that made him famous, most memorably playing Buford ‘Mad Dog’ Tannen in Back To The Future Part III.But since the final part in the trilogy, his films have been a bit forgettable (Men In White, anyone?). He now makes a living as a very successful VoiceOver artist for both animation and video games. He also recorded an album of contemporary Christian music called IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER. Oh, and in case you were wondering, that BACK TO THE FUTURE manure was real.

Casey Siemaszko as 3-D

Where Did He Come From?

Casey began acting as part of a Polish community theatre group before moving onto Chicago’s renowned Goodman School of Drama. He made his big-screen debut in the frankly rubbish teen comedy CLASS and followed that with a series of minor TV shows and movies before Mr Spielberg and Mr Zemeckis came a knocking.

Where is he Now?

The role of 3-D led to some decent roles in ’80s classics like STAND BY ME, BILOXI BLUES and YOUNG GUNS. His biggest role was in the cult comedy classic THREE O’CLOCK HIGH (1987) as a bullied nerd. He returned for both BACK TO THE FUTURE 2 AND 3. The ’90s weren’t as kind of Casey, hr had a bright stint as Captain Pat Fracker in NYPD BLUE, lots of bit parts followed until his biggest role in TV series DAMAGES as Detective Dan Williams.

Billy Zane as Match

Where Did He Come From?

Another Chicago native, Zane attended Francis Parker High School where the lucky bugger’s classmates included Daryl Hannah and Jennifer Beals. He soon moved to California, and within three weeks his brooding dark features won him the role of Match, Biff’s matchstick-chewing stooge.

Where is he Now?

Soon after BACK TO THE FUTURE, Billy was cast as Johnny Castle in DIRTY DANCING, though during a rehearsal it became clear that he had about as much rythm as an uncoordinated orang-utan, and the role went to Patrick Swayze instead. Zane soon bounced back, to play the charming psychopath Hughie Warriner in the excellent DEAD CALM. Unfortunately, he was unable to capitalise on the success of that film, and nearly flushed it down the toilet as the Phantom in the lacklustre comic book adaptation of THE PHANTOM. He did appear in the biggest film of the ’90s, TITANIC, playing the dastardly, Picasso-hating Cal Hockley. The 21st ccentury has seen Zane reach his ’90s heights of fame, but he has worked continuously and there is still hope of a Billy Zane comeback.

J.J. Cohen as Skinhead

Where Did He Come From?

Ten Comedy Central. His first two roles before hitting the big time with BACK TO THE FUTURE were in PARADISE MOTEL and SECRET ADMIRER. The former had the charming premise of a youngster renting out the bridal suite of his father’s motel for his friends to have sex in, the latter starred C Thomas Howell and Corey Ham.

Where is he Now?

We aren’t sure. He played Skinhead again in BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II, but by PART II, he had been relegated to a nameless member of ‘Needles gang’. He did pop up as Roadie Scully in ALMOST FAMOUS, though for the most part he now makes living behind the scenes, working as a production assistant. Bit of trivia, he was originally up for the role of Biff but did not appear physically intimidating when standing against the 6′ 0½” Eric Stoltz who was originally cast as Marty McFly. Writer and producer Bob Gale noted that, had the much shorter Michael J. Fox been cast as Marty from the beginning as they had hoped, Cohen probably would have played Biff.