Biff Tannen

Biff Howard Tannen is a fictional character in the Back to the Future trilogy. Thomas F. Wilson plays Biff in all three films as well as the Universal Studios ride, and voiced the character in the animated series. Biff is the main antagonist of the first and second films. Biff's great-grandfather, Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, fills a similar role in the third.

Biff Tannen
Back to the Future character
Thomas F. Wilson as Biff Tannen in 1955
First appearanceBack to the Future (1985)
Last appearanceBack to the Future: The Game (2011)
Portrayed byThomas F. Wilson
Voiced byThomas F. Wilson (animated series; Telltale videogame, 2015-re-release)
Kid Beyond (Telltale videogame, original release)
In-universe information
GenderMale
Time travel
Original time1955, 1985, 1985A, 2015
Years visited1955 (from 2015)

The character is portrayed as a tall, aggressive, dim-witted and misogynistic bully who obtains what he wants by intimidating others into doing his work for him, or by cheating. He and his family members are shown to misuse idioms in ways that make them appear stupid and pathetic despite their intention to insult or scare. His favorite insult is "butthead".

Character portrayal

Biff's early life and nature

The character of Biff is developed with a history that he was born in Hill Valley, California. He is identified as the great-grandson of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, son of Irving “Kid” Tannen and grandfather of Griff Tannen. Rather than studying in high school, he is depicted as preferring to bully George McFly into doing his homework for him while he drinks and hangs out with his friends. Feared by most of his schoolmates, he is less brave without his gang (Match, Skinhead, and 3-D). The only person at Hill Valley High school that Biff is depicted as being afraid of, is Mr. Strickland. Biff had been living with his grandmother, Gertrude Tannen, at 1809 Mason Street for some time by November 1955. In 1955, Biff was depicted as frequently having been seen driving his black 1946 Ford Deluxe convertible around Hill Valley.

Biff's relationships

In 1955, Biff had a crush on Lorraine Baines who does not return the sentiments. In the original 1985, Biff's marital status is unknown as no mention of a wife was ever made in the trilogy.

The alternate 1985 reveals that Lorraine, widowed after the murder of George McFly, ended up marrying Biff, in 1973, so that her children could live a better life.[1] In a video clip after their wedding, Biff is asked, “how does it feel?”, to which he replies, “Third time's the charm.” Hence, it stands to reason, that in the original timeline, Biff would have been married (and perhaps divorced) twice before.

Biff's children

By 2015, Biff has a teenage grandson, Griff, suggesting that Biff had at least one child by 1985. The animated series reveals that Biff has a son, Biff Jr.

Character creation and model

The character is named for studio executive Ned Tanen following an incident years earlier where Tanen reacted aggressively to a script being pitched by the film's writers Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. Tanen accused the two of attempting to produce an antisemitic work with their 1978 film, I Wanna Hold Your Hand.[2][3] Drafts of Back to the Future show the character with the middle initial of "H", but this detail was omitted in further revisions.

As the October 2015 date featured in the films approached, media outlets began noting the similarities between the older version of the character and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.[4] When the comparison was brought to Gale's attention in an interview, he revealed, "Yeah. That's what we were thinking about."[5] Both The Daily Beast and Rolling Stone note the similarities of Biff's casino penthouse to Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino;[5][6] additionally, The Beast points out that in Back to the Future Part II,

Biff uses the profits from his 27-story casino... to help shake up the Republican Party, before eventually assuming political power himself, helping transform Hill Valley, California, into a lawless, dystopian wasteland, where hooliganism reigns, dissent is quashed, and wherein Biff encourages every citizen to call him "America's greatest living folk hero."[5]

In an October 2020 interview with Michael J. Fox, who played opposite the character, he was asked about the modeling of the character on Trump. Fox replied, "Every worst instinct in mankind has been played on [by Trump], and for me that's just anathema. Biff is president!"[7]

References
  1. "Back To The Future". Scifiscripts.com. March 18, 1952. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  2. Freer, Ian. "The making of Back to the Future", Empire, January 2003.
  3. "Q&A with Director Robert Zemeckis & Producer Bob Gale","Back to the Future DVD –, Bonus Materials
  4. Lee, Benjamin, Back to the Future writer: bad guy Biff was based on Donald Trump, The Guardian, October 23, 2015
  5. Collins, Ben (October 21, 2015). "'Back to the Future' Writer: Biff Tannen Is Based on Donald Trump". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  6. Stuart, Tessa (October 21, 2015). "'Back to the Future' Writer: Biff Is Donald Trump". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  7. Freeman, Hadley, Michael J Fox: 'Every step now is a frigging math problem, so I take it slow', The Guardian, Saturday, November 21, 2020
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.