Christopher Lloyd is sharing a memorable moment from his time promoting Back to the Future Part II. The actor met Princess Diana at the film’s London premiere in 1989. Their encounter gave him a surprising glimpse of the late royal’s sense of humor. Lloyd shares the story in his new memoir, In My Own Time.
Christopher Lloyd reveals Princess Diana was ‘approachable’ as he sat next to her during the Back to the Future Part II premiere
According to Entertainment Weekly, in his memoir, Lloyd recalls attending the London premiere, which Princess Diana chaired. Michael J. Fox was supposed to sit beside the princess, but he could not attend. Lloyd then faced “extra pressure” to “pick up the slack” while promoting the movie. He took on the job of keeping the People’s Princess entertained and described her as “approachable and attractive.”
Lloyd also admitted that he had to remember the royal setting during their interaction. “Under regular circumstances, I might have been inclined to ask her to have a drink with me later, which would have been the wrong thing to do,” he wrote. He noticed Diana paying close attention to the movie and laughing at some moments. However, one scene drew a much bigger reaction from her than he expected.
The scene involved Biff, played by Thomas F. Wilson, crashing into a manure truck and getting covered in cow poop. Lloyd said Diana found the gag especially funny and laughed loudly. “She really laughed out loud at that — I mean, she really guffawed, and I was surprised,” he wrote. Her response altered his perception of the princess, who was a royal and thus expected a different response.
Lloyd wondered what Diana’s laughter said about her personality and sense of humor. “I suppose that kind of humor is pretty universal,” he wrote. “I just didn’t expect it from royalty.” The actor seemed struck by how easily the scene made her laugh, despite her position in the royal family. His memory offers a personal look at a side of Diana that surprised him during the 1989 premiere.
